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Harrier (bird)
A harrier is any of the several species of diurnal hawks sometimes placed in the subfamily Circinae of the bird of prey family Accipitridae. 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. They are distinctive with long wings, a long narrow tail, the slow and low flight over grasslands and skull peculiarities. The harriers are thought to have diversified with the expansion of grasslands and the emergence of grasses about 6 to 8 million years ago during the Late Miocene and Pliocene. Taxonomy The genus ''Circus'' was introduced by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1799. The type species was subsequently designated as the western marsh harrier. Most harriers are placed in this genus. The word ''Circus'' is derived from the Ancient Greek ''kirkos'', referring to a bird of prey named for its circling flight (''kirkos'', "c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Marsh Harrier
The western marsh harrier (''Circus aeruginosus'') is a large harrier, a bird of prey from temperate and subtropical western Eurasia and adjacent Africa. It is also known as the Eurasian marsh harrier. Formerly, a number of relatives were included in ''C. aeruginosus'', which was then known as "marsh harrier". The related taxa are now generally considered to be separate species: the eastern marsh harrier (''C. spilonotus''), the Papuan harrier (''C. spilothorax'') of eastern Asia and the Wallacea, the swamp harrier (''C. approximans'') of Australasia and the Madagascar marsh harrier (''C. maillardi'') of the western Indian Ocean islands. The western marsh harrier is often divided into two subspecies, the widely migratory ''C. a. aeruginosus'' which is found across most of its range, and ''C. a. harterti'' which is resident all-year in north-west Africa. Taxonomy The western marsh harrier was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth editi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry
Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show hosted by Harry Connick Jr. People and fictional characters *Harry (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name *Harry (surname), a list of people with the surname *Dirty Harry (musician) (born 1982), British rock singer who has also used the stage name Harry *Harry Potter (character), the main protagonist in a Harry Potter fictional series by J. K. Rowling Other uses *Harry (derogatory term), derogatory term used in Norway * ''Harry'' (album), a 1969 album by Harry Nilsson *The tunnel used in the Stalag Luft III escape ("The Great Escape") of World War II * ''Harry'' (newspaper), an underground newspaper in Baltimore, Maryland See also *Harrying (laying waste), may refer to the following historical events ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Long-winged Harrier
The long-winged harrier (''Circus buffoni'') is a common bird of prey species endemic to South America. They are members of the family Accipitridae, under the genus ''Circus'' which encompasses other harrier species. Its range encompasses most of South America, in grassland and wetland all across the continent. The long-winged harrier is a carnivorous bird, and will feed on many different animals found in its habitat. Like owls and other harrier species, the long-winged harrier has a distinctive facial disc, which is used to triangulate the bird's hearing while it is hunting. The long-winged harrier is classified as a species of least concern by the IUCN Red List, however their population has been observed to decline due to habitat degradation by human activity. Taxonomy The long-winged harrier was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's '' Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the falco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Réunion Harrier
The Réunion harrier or Réunion marsh harrier (''Circus maillardi'') 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, although fossil material from Mauritius has been referred to this species. It is known locally as the ''papangue'' or ''pied jaune''. The Malagasy harrier (''C. macrosceles'') of Madagascar and the Comoro Islands was previously treated as a subspecies of this bird but is increasingly regarded as a separate species. The Réunion harrier appears to be declining in numbers and it is classed as an endangered species. Description It is about 42–55 cm long; the female is around 3–15% larger than the male.Ferguson-Lees, James & David A. Christie (2001) ''Raptors of the World'', Christopher Helm, London. The male has a blackish head and back with white streaks. The underparts, underwings and rump are white and the tail is grey. The wings are grey and black with a white leading e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malagasy Harrier
The Malagasy harrier (''Circus macrosceles'') is a bird of prey belonging to the marsh harrier group of harriers. It inhabits Madagascar and the Comoro Islands in the Indian Ocean. It was formerly regarded as a subspecies of the Réunion harrier (''C. maillardi'') but is increasingly treated as a separate species. It is also known as the Madagascar harrier, Madagascar marsh harrier or Malagasy marsh harrier. Description It is about 42–55 cm long; the female is up to 13% larger than the male. The male has a blackish back and a greyer head with dark streaks. The underparts and rump are whitish and the tail is grey with dark bars. The forewings and wingtips are blackish while the secondaries are grey with dark bars. Females are browner than the males. The Réunion harrier is smaller and darker with shorter legs and shorter, more rounded wings. Males have a blacker head and plainer secondaries and tail. Distribution and habitat In Madagascar it is found in marshland and gra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Papuan Harrier
The Papuan harrier (''Circus spilothorax'') is a bird of prey native to New Guinea which belongs to the harrier genus ''Circus''. It was classified as a subspecies of the eastern marsh harrier (''Circus spilonotus'') of eastern Asia. It is thinly scattered across the whole of New Guinea except for the Vogelkop peninsula in the west. There are several unconfirmed reports from Australia but the bird can easily be confused with the swamp harrier. It inhabits grassland and wetlands up to 3800 m above sea-level. It hunts low over open ground searching for small mammals, birds and lizards. The adult male is usually silvery-grey with black head, throat, back and wing-markings and white underparts. Adult females are brown with a pale rump, barred tail and streaked underparts. Juveniles are blackish-brown with cream-coloured markings on the head, more extensive in the female. The length of the bird varies from 47 to 54 cm; females are larger than the males. In the central highlan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swamp Harrier
The swamp harrier (''Circus approximans''), also known as the Australasian marsh harrier, Australasian harrier or swamp-hawk, is a large, slim bird of prey widely distributed across Australasia. In New Zealand it is also known as the harrier hawk, hawk, or by the Māori name . Its arrival in New Zealand happened within the last 700 years, replacing its sister species, the larger extinct New Zealand endemic Eyles's harrier. The swamp harrier belongs to the sub-family Circinae and genus ''Circus'', which are represented worldwide, except Antarctica. The sub-family and genus are derived from the characteristic behaviour of circling flight during courtship and hawking. Description The swamp harrier is largely dark brown, becoming lighter with age, and has a distinct white rump. It hunts by flying slowly, low to the ground, on upswept wings. The body length is , and the wingspan is . The recorded weights of adults range from . Females are significantly larger than the males. In New ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Marsh Harrier
The African marsh harrier (''Circus ranivorus'') is a bird of prey belonging to the harrier genus ''Circus''. It is largely resident in wetland habitats in southern, central and eastern Africa from South Africa north to South Sudan. Description African Marsh harrier females are larger than males and they are in length, with females being about 30% heavier than males (Simmons and Simmons 2000). Adults, (like the male bird right) have yellow eyes, but brown eyes when immature. Both sexes are mostly brown with pale streakings on the head, breast, forewing and rufous on the thighs and the belly. Adult males differ from females in that they have a pale grey wash to the dorsal secondaries and primaries. The female's are brown. The juvenile is dark brown and may have a pale breastband and pale markings on the head. The tail and flight feathers have dark barring at all ages, but this is rarely visible in the juvenile birds. It resembles a small Eurasian marsh harrier but is slimmer a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Marsh Harrier
The eastern marsh harrier (''Circus spilonotus'') 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 (''Circus aeruginosus'') but is now usually classified as a separate species. It has two subspecies: ''C. s. spilonotus'' in eastern Asia and ''C. s. spilothorax'' ( Papuan harrier, perhaps a separate species) in New Guinea. Description It is 48 to 58 cm long with a wingspan of 113 to 137 cm; like most birds of prey, the female is usually larger than the male. The male's plumage is variable; typically the head, breast, back and wing-coverts are blackish with pale streaks. The rest of the wing is grey with black wingtips and a white front edge. The tail is grey, the rump is white and the underparts are mostly white. The female is dark brown with buff streaking on the head and underparts. The rump is often whitish and the tail has dark bars. Young birds are dark brown with buff on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Harrier
The northern harrier (''Circus hudsonius''), or ring-tailed hawk, is a bird of prey. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost USA. The northern harrier migrates to more southerly areas in winter, with breeding birds in more northern areas moving to the southernmost USA, Mexico, and Central America. In milder regions in the southern US, they may be present all year, but the higher ground is largely deserted in winter. This bird inhabits prairies, open areas, and marshes. The northern harrier was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the Eurasian hen harrier. Taxonomy In 1750 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the northern harrier in the third volume of his ''A Natural History of Uncommon Birds''. He used the English name "The Ring-tail'd Hawk". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a bird collected near the Hudson Bay in Canada and brought to London by James Ish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hen Harrier
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. It migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian birds move to southern Europe and southern temperate Asia. In the mildest regions, such as France and Great Britain, hen harriers may be present all year, but the higher ground is largely deserted in winter. The northern harrier was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the hen harrier. Taxonomy In 1758 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the hen harrier in the first volume of his ''Gleanings of Natural History''. He used the English name "The blue hawk". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a bird that had been shot near London. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his ''Systema Naturae'' for the twelfth edition, he placed the hen harrier with the falcons and eagles in the genus '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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