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Information about Hen Harrier

Hen Harrier

Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Falconiformes
Family:Accipitridae
Genus:Circus
Species:C. cyaneus
Binomial name
Circus cyaneus
(Linnaeus, 1766)

Light Green: nesting area
Blue: wintering area
Dark Green: all-year


The Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus) or Northern Harrier (in North America) is a bird of prey of the hawk family. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the Northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost USA, and northern Eurasia. Marsh Hawk is a disused name for the species in North America.

This species is polytypic, comprising two subspecies:
  • Circus cyaneus cyaneus: Breeds in Europe and Asia.
  • Circus cyaneus hudsonius: Breeds in North America (sometimes considered a distinct species Northern Harrier C. hudsonius). The male's plumage is darker grey than that of C.c. cyaneus and the female is also darker, more rufous in colour.
Enlarge picture
First year, American subspecies
Except in the mildest regions such as France and Great Britain, it migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Hen Harriers will roost communally in winter, often with Merlins.

This medium-sized raptor breeds on moorland, bogs and (in Europe) farmland. In winter it is a bird of open country.

This is a typical harrier, with long wings held in a shallow V in its low flight. It also resembles other harriers in having distinct male and female plumages.

The male is grey above and white below, with black wingtips. The female is brown above with white upper tail coverts, hence females and the similar juveniles are often called “ringtails”. Her underparts are buff streaked with brown.

Hen Harriers hunt small mammals and birds, surprising them as they drift low over fields and moors. The Harrier's flight follows the contours of the land below it.

The nest of this species is on the ground. Four to six whitish eggs are laid.

This conspicuous raptor attracts intense illegal persecution from gamekeepers on hunting estates, particularly those managed for Red Grouse shooting. Because of this they are now very rare in the UK.

References

External links

conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation status of a species: not simply the number remaining, but the
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Least Concern (LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, nor Near Threatened, nor (prior to 2001) Conservation Dependent.
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Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.
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Chordata
Bateson, 1885

Typical Classes

See below

Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates.
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Aves
Linnaeus, 1758

Orders

About two dozen - see section below

Birds (class Aves) are bipedal, warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrate animals.
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Falconiformes
Sharpe, 1874

Families

Accipitridae
Pandionidae
Falconidae
Sagittariidae

The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 species of birds that include the diurnal birds of prey.
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Accipitridae
Vieillot, 1816

Subfamilies
  • Accipitrinae
  • Aegypiinae
  • Buteoninae
  • Circaetinae
  • Circinae
  • Elaninae
  • Milvinae
  • Perninae
but see text

The Accipitridae
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Circus
Lacepede, 1799

species

see text

Circus is the largest genus of the harriers, a group of diurnal birds of prey which fly low over meadows and marshes and hunt or harry small animals or birds.
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binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. The system is also called binominal nomenclature (particularly in zoological circles), binary nomenclature (particularly in botanical circles), or the binomial classification system.
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Carolus Linnaeus (Carl von Linné)

Carl von Linné, Alexander Roslin, 1775. Currently owned by and hanging at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
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North America is a continent [1] in the Earth's northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the south and west
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    Accipitriformes
  • Pandionidae
  • Accipitridae
  • Sagittariidae
  • Falconiformes
  • Falconidae


A
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Accipitridae
Vieillot, 1816

Subfamilies
  • Accipitrinae
  • Aegypiinae
  • Buteoninae
  • Circaetinae
  • Circinae
  • Elaninae
  • Milvinae
  • Perninae
but see text

The Accipitridae
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Northern Hemisphere or northern hemisphere[1] is the half of a planet that is north of the equator—the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator.
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Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
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Eurasia is an immense landmass covering about 53,990,000 km² (or about 10.6%) of the Earth's surface. Often reckoned as a single continent, Eurasia comprises the traditional continents of Europe and Asia, concepts which date back to classical antiquity and the borders for which are
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In zoology, polytypic refers to a taxonomic group with more than one subgroup at the next lower taxonomic level.

See also

pol·y·typ·ic also pol·y·typ·i·cal adj.

Refers to having many or several varying forms, including subspecies and varieties.
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Motto
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité
"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"
Anthem
"La Marseillaise"


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This page is protected from moves until disputes have been resolved on the .
The reason for its protection is listed on the protection policy page. The page may still be edited but cannot be moved until unprotected.
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F. columbarius

Binomial name
Falco columbarius
Linnaeus, 1758

Subspecies

3-9, see text.
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    Accipitriformes
  • Pandionidae
  • Accipitridae
  • Sagittariidae
  • Falconiformes
  • Falconidae


A
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Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas, characterised by acidic soils. Moorland habitats are most extensive in the neotropics and tropical Africa but also occur in small scattered locations in northern and western Europe, Northern Australia, North
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bog is a wetland type that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material. The term peat bog in common usage is not entirely redundant, although it would be proper to call these sphagnum bogs
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farm is an area of land devoted to the production and management of food, either produce or livestock. It is the basic unit in agricultural production.[1] Farms may be owned and operated by a single individual, family, or community, or by a corporation or company.
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Aves
Linnaeus, 1758

Orders

About two dozen - see section below

Birds (class Aves) are bipedal, warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrate animals.
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Mammalia
Linnaeus, 1758

Subclasses & Infraclasses
  • Subclass †Allotheria*
  • Subclass Prototheria
  • Subclass Theria

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In most birds and reptiles, an egg (Latin ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. To enable incubation the egg is usually kept within a favourable temperature range as it nourishes and protects the growing embryo.
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Lagopus lagopus scoticus
(Latham, 1787)

The Red Grouse (Lagopus lagopus scoticus) is a medium sized bird of the grouse family which is found in heather moorland in Great Britain and Ireland.
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