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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 ... Polyboroides (3 P) Pages in category "Harriers (birds)" ... Harrier (bird) A. African marsh harrier; B. Black ...
Circus is from kirkos, meaning "circle", referring to a bird of prey named for its circling flight (probably the hen harrier), and pygargus is Modern Latin derived from the Greek pugargos, from puge, meaning "rump", and argos, meaning "shining white". The species name was formerly used for the hen harrier before Montagu's was identified as a ...
The long-winged harrier is part of the only diurnal bird of prey group to possess a facial disc. The facial disc is formed by a group of easily recognizable group of feathers that form a disc shape around the bird's face. [12] These feathers can be raised in response to sounds and can improve the bird's hearing when it is hunting by ...
Although the term "bird of prey" could theoretically be taken to include all birds that actively hunt and eat other animals, [4] ornithologists typically use the narrower definition followed in this page, [5] excluding many piscivorous predators such as storks, cranes, herons, gulls, skuas, penguins, and kingfishers, as well as many primarily ...
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 ...