COMMON NAME: Northern Harrier
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Circus cyaneus
IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS:
Slim hawks with long wings and tail. Long unfeathered legs and an
owl-like facial disk identify the bird at close range. Males are pale gray
with streaks
of white
the tail is gray with brown bars. Females are dark brown with brown and white
streaking in front the brown tail is barred with dark stripes. Juveniles resemble
female but have a cinnamon brown breast. The conspicuous white rump patch is
diagnostic for this species in the field.
RANGE:
The northern harrier breeds from Alaska through Canada and the northern
half
of the United States. Most winter from the middle United States into Mexico,
although harriers from southern Minnesota are occasionally reported in the winter.
HABITAT:
The northern harrier is a grassland raptor generally found in wet
meadows. They
nest and roost on the ground.
NESTING:
A ground nester, harriers build their nests in tall grass or in the
cover of a bush or shrub. Greatly affected by the cycling of vole populations,
harriers
at times of vole irruptions can be polygamous (a male having more than one mate).
They do not mate for life and change the location of their nest site from year
to year, the females moving farther than the males.
FEEDING HABITS:
Capable of taking a wide variety of prey from rodents to birds, insects,
reptiles, and amphibians, harriers most commonly depend on voles for food.
So dependent
are harriers on vole numbers that one researcher has called them "the hawk
that is ruled by a mouse."
RAPTOR CENTER DATA:
Not a common patient, we do not receive more than a few harriers each
year. They are very difficult birds to maintain in captivity. They seem to
undergo
greater
stress than most raptors and are often unwilling to eat anything but mice.
CONSERVATION
STATUS:
Not officially listed in Minnesota, but their numbers seem to be diminishing.
Loss of grasslands to agriculture, industrial development and urban sprawl
threatens the future of northern harrier populations.
Other Web Resources:
Northern Goshawk Range
Minnesota Ornithologists' Union bird range map
Additional Information (not specifically about hawks):
Publications
