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A harrier is a member of the genus Circus in Accipitridae, a family of birds of prey. Harriers characteristically hunt by flying low over open ground, feeding on small mammals, reptiles, or birds. The young of the species are sometimes referred to as ring-tail harriers.
This is a typical harrier, which hunts on long wings held in a shallow V in its low flight during which the bird closely hugs the contours of the land below it. Northern or hen harriers hunt primarily small mammals, [20] as do most harriers. Preferred prey species can include voles, cotton rats and ground squirrels.
The hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) is a bird of prey. It breeds in Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl. [2] It migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian birds move to southern Europe and southern temperate Asia.
Harriers are diurnal birds of prey of the Circinae subfamily of Accipitridae. Subcategories. ... Harrier (bird) A. African marsh harrier; B. Black harrier; C ...
Western marsh harrier. The western marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus), often simply called the marsh harrier, breeds widely across Europe and Asia. It is migratory except in the mildest regions, and winters mainly in Africa. It hunts small mammals, frogs, fish, insects and birds, surprising them as it drifts low over fields and reedbeds. Its ...
Circus is from kirkos, referring to a bird of prey named for its circling flight (kirkos, "circle"), probably the hen harrier, and pygargus is Modern Latin derived from Greek pugargos, from puge,"rump" and argos, "shining white". The species name was formerly used for the hen harrier before Montagu's was identified as a different species.
The western marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus) is a large harrier, a bird of prey from temperate and subtropical western Eurasia and adjacent Africa. It is also known as the Eurasian marsh harrier . Formerly, a number of relatives were included in C. aeruginosus , which was then known as " marsh harrier " .
The spotted harrier is a carnivorous bird of prey feeding mostly on terrestrial mammals such as bandicoots, bettongs and rodents as well as small birds and reptiles and occasionally large insects. Formerly the species was heavily dependent on rabbits however the rapid spread of rabbit calicivirus disease led to a significant decline in rabbit ...