A
harrier is any of the several species of
diurnalDiurnality is a plant or animal behavior characterized by activity during the day and sleeping at night.-In animals:Animals that are not diurnal might be nocturnal or crepuscular . Many animal species are diurnal, including many mammals, insects, reptiles and birds...
hawkThe term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...
s forming the
Circinae sub-family of the
AccipitridaeThe Accipitridae, one of the two major families within the order Accipitriformes , are a family of small to large birds with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-sized mammals, with a number feeding on carrion and a...
familyIn biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
of
birds of preyBirds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....
. Harriers characteristically hunt by flying low over open ground, feeding on small mammals, reptiles, or birds.
Most harriers are placed in the
genusIn biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Circus, the scientific name arising from the circling movements female and male make when courting. Two other harriers are in the genus
Polyboroides, the
harrier-hawks, which are allopatric (geographically separated) and restricted to the Afrotropic ecozone. The remaining single species forms the
monotypicIn biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
genus
Geranospiza.
Species list
- Genus Circus
- Montagu's Harrier
The Montagu's Harrier is a migratory bird of prey of the harrier family. Its common name commemorates the British naturalist George Montagu.-Plumage:...
, Circus pygargus
- Northern Harrier, Circus cyaneus
- Western Marsh Harrier
The Western Marsh-harrier is a mid-sized harrier, a bird of prey from temperate and subtropical western Eurasia and adjacent Africa. It is also known as the Eurasian Marsh-harrier....
, Circus aeruginosus
- Eastern Marsh Harrier
The Eastern Marsh Harrier is a bird of prey belonging to the marsh harrier group of harriers. It was previously considered to be conspecific with the Western Marsh Harrier but is now usually classified as a separate species. It has two subspecies: C. s. spilonotus in eastern Asia and C. s...
, Circus spilonotus
- Papuan Harrier
The Papuan Harrier is a bird of prey native to New Guinea which belongs to the harrier genus Circus. It is commonly classified as a subspecies of the Eastern Marsh Harrier of eastern Asia...
, Circus spilonotus spilothorax
- African Marsh Harrier
The African Marsh Harrier is a bird of prey belonging to the harrier genus Circus. It is found in southern, central and eastern Africa from South Africa north to Sudan with a vagrant record from Nigeria. It is particularly common in the Okavango Delta in Botswana...
, Circus ranivorus
- Swamp Harrier
The Swamp Harrier also known as the Marsh Harrier, Australasian Harrier, Kāhu, Swamp-hawk or New Zealand Hawk is a large, slim bird of prey in the family Accipitridae.-Description:...
, Circus approximans
- Malagasy Harrier, Circus macrosceles (formerly in C. maillardi)
- Réunion Harrier
The Réunion Harrier or Réunion Marsh Harrier is a bird of prey belonging to the marsh harrier group of harriers. It is now found only on the Indian Ocean island of Réunion where it is known locally as the papangue or pied jaune, although fossil material from Mauritius has been referred to this...
, Circus maillardi
- Long-winged Harrier
The Long-winged Harrier is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, native to South America.It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Falkland Islands, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela.Its natural habitats are dry...
, Circus buffoni
- Spotted Harrier
The Spotted Harrier, Circus assimilis, also known as the Smoke Hawk, is a large Australasian bird of prey in the family Accipitridae.-Description:It is similar to the Swamp Harrier, distinguished by grey upperparts, chestnut facial disc and dark rump...
, Circus assimilis
- Black Harrier
The Black Harrier, Circus maurus, is a medium-sized African harrier of South Africa, Botswana and Namibia.When perched, this bird appears all black. However, in flight a white rump and flight feathers become visible. Its morphology is comparable to that of other harriers, with a slim body, narrow...
, Circus maurus
- Cinereous Harrier
The Cinereous Harrier is a South American bird of prey of the harrier family. Its breeding range extends from the Tierra del Fuego through Argentina and Chile to Bolivia, Paraguay and southern Brasil; and across the Andes north to Colombia.The term cinereous describes its colouration...
, Circus cinereus
- Pallid Harrier
The Pale or Pallid Harrier is a migratory bird of prey of the harrier family. It breeds in southern parts of eastern Europe and central Asia and winters mainly in India and southeast Asia...
, Circus macrourus
- Pied Harrier
The Pied Harrier is an Asian species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is migratory, breeding from Amur valley in eastern Russia and north-eastern China to North Korea. Wintering individuals can be found in a wide area from Pakistan to Philippines...
, Circus melanoleucos
- Eyles' Harrier
Eyles' Harrier is an extinct bird of prey which lived in New Zealand.It was an example of island gigantism, weighing over twice as much as a Swamp Harrier. It was a generalist predator, taking prey of the same size as small eagle species do – land animals weighing one or a few kilograms...
, Circus eylesi (prehistoricPrehistoric birds are various taxa of birds that became extinct before recorded history, or more precisely, before they could be studied alive by bird scientists...
)
- Wood Harrier
The Wood Harrier or Mime Harrier is an extinct bird of prey which lived in Hawaii during the Holocene. This rather small species of harrier with short wings which inhabited the forests of Molokai and Oahu where it presumably hunted for small birds and insects.- Description :The Wood Harrier was a...
, Circus dossenus (prehistoricPrehistoric birds are various taxa of birds that became extinct before recorded history, or more precisely, before they could be studied alive by bird scientists...
)
- Genus Polyboroides
Polyboroides is a genus of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family. This genus has two recognized species found in Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. The two species are allopatric and restricted to the Afrotropic ecozone...
- Madagascar Harrier-Hawk
The Madagascar Harrier-Hawk is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family.It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on...
, Polyboroides radiatus
- African Harrier-Hawk, Polyboroides typus
- Genus Geranospiza
- Crane Hawk
The Crane Hawk is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family. It is monotypic within the genus Geranospiza....
, Geranospiza caerulescens
See also
- Ring-tail harrier
Ring-tail is an informal term used by birders for the juveniles and females of several harrier species, when seen in the field and not identified to exact species....
, an informal term for the juveniles and females of several harrier species.
External links