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 The Northern Harrier



Description The Northern harrier (Circus Cyaneus), formally known as a marsh hawk in North America, is one of the most widespread and easily recognized hawk in America. This majestic raptor has an owl-like facial disc which allows it to hunt by sound, as well as sight. Quiet in flight, their prey doesn't recognize the danger until it's too late. The Northern harriers beautiful features, range, habbitat, life cycle, and unique hunting techniques make this hawk stand out.

The Northern harrier, depending on age and size, is a medium to large sized hawk. Their owl-like facial disks, white rump patches, and yellow facial skin are among their obvious features. However, the male and female look different in both plumage and size. The adult male is smaller than the female, with a slate grey color on their back side. It has a white front, with varying amounts of light rufous (rusty) spotting. Although they are born with greyish eyes, their eyes change to lemon yellow by their first winter. Their legs are long and yellow and they have a black bill. This beautiful raptor is sixteen to eighteen inches long, it has a wingspan of thirty-eight to fourty-three inches, and a weight of ten to fourteen ounces. Alternately, the adult female has a brown backside, and a buff colored front. There are brown vertical streakings on their chests and bellies. Their under-wings are dark and their black wingtips are masked. They are born with dark brown eyes, which take at least two years to appear yellow. Like the males, their legs are long and yellow and they have a black bill. They are eighteen to twenty inches long, with a wingspan of fourty-three to fourty-eight inches, and a wieght of fourteen to twenty-one ounces. Furthermore, the juvenile Northern harriers are extremely similar in appearanceto the adult females. However, they are slightly darker and have a faintly streaked underside.

Northern harriers can also be distinguished by the way they fly. They are often seen flying low over the ground, alternately flapping and gliding in a V-shaped form. The northern harriers' flight is characterized by it's unsteady tilting and leaning at angles as it glides. It can reach speeds up to thirty-eight kilomethers an hour for males and thirty kilometers an hour for females and juveniles.



Range and Habbitat The Northern harrier is one of the most northerly breeding and one of the most widespread of all harriers. During the summer, they travel to Alaska and Canada to breed. They are focused throughout the west central and mid-central United States throughout all seasons. Northern harriers travel to the southern parts of north America, and sometimes to northern South America for the winter. Within these areas, Northern harriers inhabit high marshes, open wetlands, meadows, pastures, prairies, grasslands, croplands, and riparian woodlands. They may also nest in freshwater tidal marshes.

Diet Harriers are opportunistic, which generally eat whatever is abundant or available during the different seasons. They are known to eat small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. In the summerthey eat songbirds, voles, mice, shrews, rats, rabbits, reptiles, and amphibians. In the winter their diet shifts to mainly small mammals, some birds, and carrion.

Life Cycle Courtship begins in late February and peaks in April. Males perform elaborate aerial courtly behaviors. They are meant to announce their presence in their territories and maintain pair bonds with a female. The male flies up over a marsh, pauses, and then vaults in steep rapid dives. Male Northern harriers are polyginists, which usually mate with one to two females. But when prey resources are abundant some males may mate with five females during the breeding season. Females construct nests on the ground with grasses, reeds, and sticks. Female harriers lay between four to seven eggs in two day cycles.The female incubates the eggs for twenty-eight to thirty-nine days. The young hatch asynchronously or in the order that they were laid. This adaptation gives the older young a better chance of survival if food is scarce. The male provides most of the food during incubation and brooding. He drops the prey over the nest and sometimes the female flies up to catch it. When the young are two weeks old they begin to explore around the nest. At five weeks the young begin to fly. Several weeks later the young are completely independent and migrate south for the winter. They migrate back to the north in the summer for breeding and repeat this cycle. The Northern harrier lives for about twelve years.

Interesting Facts Although it was uncommon, Northern harriers have been used for falconry. Most farmers like them because they eat predators of quail eggs as well as mice, which damage crops. Some Native Americans believe that seeing a hawk on your wedding day is a sign of a long, happy marriage. In some parts of Europe people believe that seeing a harrier perched on a house was a sign that three people would die.



<span style="color: #7d0303; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 180%;">Conclusion <span style="color: #a80000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The Northern harriers marvelous features have caught the eyes of many numerous people. Their many traits, from the differences in plumage and size between the sexes to its exclusive hunting techniques, make this raptor one of a kind. Their owl-like facial discs, lemon yellow eyes, and beautifyl colors make this hawk one of my favorites. I can only hope that sometime in the future I can see this elegant harrier up close.

<span style="color: #7d0303; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 180%;">Bibliography <span style="color: #7d0303; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">For more information visit; <span style="color: #a80000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|www.allaboutbirds.org][|sounds] <span style="color: #a80000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|www.arkive.org] <span style="color: #a80000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|www.bna.birds.cornell.edu] <span style="color: #a80000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|www.ebird.org] <span style="color: #a80000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|www.peregrinefund.org] <span style="color: #a80000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|www.planetofbirds.com] <span style="color: #a80000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|www.sdakotabirds.com] <span style="color: #a80000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|www.tpwd.state.tx.us] <span style="color: #a80000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|www.whozoo.org] <span style="color: #a80000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|www.avianweb.com] <span style="color: #a80000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|www.birdweb.org] <span style="color: #a80000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|www.bpraptorcenter.org] <span style="color: #a80000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|www.carolinaraptorcenter.org] <span style="color: #a80000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|www.falconforums.com] <span style="color: #a80000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|www.avibirds.com] [|www.macaulaylibrary.org] [|videos]