Alternative name: Hen Harrier
- Circus cyaneus
Identification
L. 17-24 in
W. 3 1/2-4 1/2 ft
Weight 12-18 oz
Male
Grey head and upper parts with black primaries and white rump
Female
Quite a bit larger than the male. Brown above and brownish-white below. Very noticeable white rump
Distribution
Widespread in the Northern Hemisphere.
In North America breeds over most of Alaska except the far north and Canada south of the tree-line. Also breeds over much of the western and northern USA but absent from the south and south-east. Southernmost breeding limit is northern Baja California.
Winters from southern Canada and throughout the USA, and from Mexico to Panama, rarely the Caribbean, Colombia and Venezuela.
In Europe main breeding range is from central Sweden, Finland and the Baltic States, south to the Black Sea and east to the Urals. However, also breeds patchily in Ireland and northern Britain, in north and central France and northern Spain, with smaller populations in the Netherlands, Denmark and central Norway, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. Recently bred for the first time for many years in Italy. A summer visitor to Scandinavia and Russia but resident or partly so in remainder of range.
Widespread in winter from British Isles, France and Spain east to the Black and Caspian Seas. Small numbers winter in Morocco and Egypt and can be seen on the major migration routes but relatively few cross the Mediterranean. Recorded in some numbers at Falsterbo, peaking in early-mid October.
A vagrant north to Iceland and the Faroes and to several Middle Eastern countries.
Asian range extends from the Urals to the Pacific coast breeding in the Russian Far East, on Kamchatka and Sakhalin, and northern and eastern China.
Winters in Japan, China south of the Yangtze, in South-East Asia and India. A rare straggler to Taiwan.
Taxonomy
The North American race hudsonius formerly known as the Marsh Hawk has rufous-spotted flanks and thighs in male and darker upperparts and more orange underparts in female. This race has occurred as a vagrant to the Azores and the Faroes and possibly also in Britain.
Habitat
Breeds in marshes, grasslands and heathlands, sometimes in mountains, often in cultivated areas.
Behaviour
Harriers hunt using a low, slow flight over the ground, then plunge onto their prey.
Diet
Includes small mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, and carrion.
Breeding
They build a nest of sticks and grass on the ground in thick grass, shrubbery, or other vegetation. Three to six eggs are laid and are incubated 29 - 31 days, and the young hawks fledge 4 - 5 1/2 weeks later.
Harriers mature in 2 - 3 years, but may be able to breed their first year.
Vocalisation
<flashmp3>Circus cyaneus (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
References
- Collins Field Guide 5th Edition
External Links
This link searches for Hen Harrier
