D I S C O V E R    L I F E      Home • All Living Things • IDnature guides • Global mapper • Albums • Labels • Search   About • Research • Education • Proceedings • Polistes Foundation • Partners • Links • Help

Circus cyaneus (Linnaeus, 1766) Northern Harrier; American Harrier; Hen Harrier

Links

Higher taxa:  Life   Vertebrata   Aves   Accipitridae   Circus   Global map IDnature guides: Bird_species, Bird_subspecies, Birds, Birds2, Indiana We parsed the following live from the Web into this page. Such content is managed by its original site and not cached on Discover Life. Please send feedback and corrections directly to the source. See original regarding copyrights and terms of use. Breeding Bird Survey, USGS Cornell Lab of Ornithology The Birds of North America Taiwan Biodiversity National Information Network CalPhotos

80x5 - 240x3 - 240x4 - 320x1 - 320x2 - 320x3 - 640x1 - 640x2 Set display option above. Click on images to enlarge.
© Copyright Photographer Circus cyaneus	© Copyright Jo-Anna Ghadban 2009 Circus cyaneus, Northern harrier
© Copyright Jo-Anna Ghadban 2009 Circus cyaneus, Northern harrier	© Justin Valleau, 2007 Circus cyaneus
© Copyright John Ascher, 2006-2010 Circus cyaneus, Northern Harrier	© Copyright John Ascher, 2006-2010 Circus cyaneus, Northern Harrier
© Larry Thompson, 2007 Circus cyaneus, Northern Harrier	© Larry Thompson, 2007 Circus cyaneus, Northern Harrier
© Larry Thompson, 2007 Circus cyaneus, Northern Harrier	© Larry Thompson, 2007 Circus cyaneus, Northern Harrier
© Larry Thompson, 2007 Circus cyaneus, Northern Harrier	© Larry Thompson, 2007 Circus cyaneus, Northern Harrier
© Larry Thompson, 2007 Circus cyaneus, Northern Harrier	© Larry Thompson, 2007 Circus cyaneus, Northern Harrier
© Larry Thompson, 2007 Circus cyaneus, Northern Harrier	© Larry Thompson, 2007 Circus cyaneus, Northern Harrier

Names

Scientific source:       Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Following modified from Breeding Bird Survey, USGS

   Top | See original

ID Tips Life History BBS Map CBC Map Taxonomy(ITIS) Glossary Back to List Northern harrier Circus cyaneus Identification Tips: Length: 16.5 inches Wingspan: 42 inches Medium-sized, long-winged, long-tailed hawk Rounded wings, can appear pointed while gliding White rump Short, dark, hooked beak Often courses low over marshes and fields on wings held in a strong dihedral Flat face with owl-like facial disk Adult male: Pale gray body plumage, paler on underparts Darker gray head Black tips to flight feathers, especially noticeable on the outer primaries Narrow dark bars on tail Adult female: Buff underparts with darker streaks on breast, belly, and underwing coverts Dark barring on flight feathers most visible from below Dark patch on inner wing created by dark secondaries and dark secondary covert Dark brown above Narrow barring on tail Immature: Dark brown streaked head Orange-buff underparts without streaks Dark barring on flight feathers most visible from below Dark patch on inner wing created by dark secondaries and dark secondary covert Dark brown above Narrow dark barring on tail Similar species: In typical habitat, the harrier is easily recognized by the low, coursing flight, white rump, and wings held at an angle. Rough-legged Hawks occupy similar habitat but have broader wings and a black subterminal tail band. When migrating, harriers can fly at great heights where many of their features become less obvious. The white rump cannot be seen, the wings may not appear held at an angle and the tail may be fanned. The pale underwings with black primary tips of the male make it distinctive. The dark inner wingss of females and immatures are a helpful clue. Harriers appear thinner-winged and longer-tailed than buteos and longer-winged than accipiters. Length and wingspan from: Robbins, C.S., Bruun, B., Zim, H.S., (1966). Birds of North America. New York: Western Publishing Company, Inc. Patuxent Bird Population Studies Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter Adult male Adult female Immature

Following modified from Cornell Lab of Ornithology

   Top | See original

&pull 20q v4.662 20091102: Error 404 Not Found http://www.birds.cornell.edu/BOW/NORHAR/

Following modified from The Birds of North America

   Top | See original

&pull 20q v4.662 20091102: Error 301 Moved Permanently http://www.birds.cornell.edu/birdsofna/excerpts/harrier.html

Following modified from Taiwan Biodiversity National Information Network

   Top | See original

　 Kingdom Animalia    Phylum Chordata    Class Aves    Order Ciconiiformes    Family Accipitridae    Genus Circus     Circus cyaneus    (Linnaeus, 1766)  Provider: Severinghaus Liu, Lucia  Citation: Edward C. Dickinson, 2003. The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Princeton University Press.  Name Code: 380108   LC  IUCN Red List      Taiwan Wildlife Conservation Act- Endangered     Suggested Link    World Register of Marine Species   User Response:      　

Following modified from CalPhotos

   Top | See original

CalPhotos     Photo Database   Number of matches : 52 Query: SELECT * FROM img WHERE ready=1 and taxon like "Circus cyaneus%" and (lifeform != "specimen_tag" OR lifeform != "Animal") ORDER BY taxon Click on the thumbnail to see an enlargement Circus cyaneus Gavilán Rastrero ID: 8253 3202 0971 0050 [detail] George W. Robinson © 1999 California Academy of Sciences Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier ID: 0000 0000 1202 0606 [detail] © 1999 Chris Green Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier ID: 0000 0000 1202 0607 [detail] © 1999 Chris Green Circus cyaneus Gavilán Rastrero ID: 8253 3202 0971 0051 [detail] George W. Robinson © 1999 California Academy of Sciences UCMP specimen card ID: 2222 0904 0005 0003 [detail] © University of California Museum of Paleontology UCMP specimen card ID: 2222 0904 0036 0017 [detail] © University of California Museum of Paleontology Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier ID: 0000 0000 1204 0013 [detail] © 2004 Tom Greer tbphotos@comcast.net Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier ID: 0000 0000 1204 0096 [detail] © 2004 Tom Greer tbphotos@comcast.net Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier ID: 0000 0000 1204 0119 [detail] © 2004 Tom Greer tbphotos@comcast.net Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier ID: 0000 0000 1204 0122 [detail] © 2004 Tom Greer tbphotos@comcast.net Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier ID: 0000 0000 1204 0566 [detail] © 2004 Tom Greer tbphotos@comcast.net Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier ID: 0000 0000 1204 0567 [detail] © 2004 Tom Greer tbphotos@comcast.net Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier ID: 0000 0000 1204 0568 [detail] © 2004 Tom Greer tbphotos@comcast.net Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier ID: 0000 0000 1204 0569 [detail] © 2004 Tom Greer tbphotos@comcast.net Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier ID: 0000 0000 0205 0397 [detail] © 2005 Tom Greer tbphotos@comcast.net Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier ID: 0000 0000 0405 0467 [detail] © 2005 Tom Greer tbphotos@comcast.net Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier ID: 0000 0000 0905 0192 [detail] © 2005 John Pelafigue Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier ID: 0000 0000 1006 0200 [detail] © 2006 Tom Greer tbphotos@comcast.net Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier ID: 0000 0000 1106 0236 [detail] © 2006 Tom Greer tbphotos@comcast.net Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier ID: 0000 0000 1006 0202 [detail] © 2006 Tom Greer tbphotos@comcast.net Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier ID: 0000 0000 1106 0237 [detail] © 2006 Tom Greer tbphotos@comcast.net Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier ID: 0000 0000 1206 0949 [detail] © 2006 Tom Greer tbphotos@comcast.net Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier ID: 0000 0000 1206 0950 [detail] © 2006 Tom Greer tbphotos@comcast.net Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier ID: 0000 0000 1206 0951 [detail] © 2006 Tom Greer tbphotos@comcast.net Using these photos: A variety of organizations and individuals have contributed photographs to CalPhotos. Please follow the usage guidelines provided with each image. Use and copyright information, as well as other details about the photo such as the date and the location, are available by clicking on the [detail] link under the thumbnail. See also: Using the Photos in CalPhotos .    Copyright © 1995-2010 UC Regents. All rights reserved. CalPhotos is a project of BSCIT     University of California, Berkeley