a.k.a. Marsh Hawk, American Harrier, Hen Harrier and ring-tailed Hawk.
The only harrier in North America. There are several in parts of Europe and Asia.
Identification:
Slender, medium-sized raptor with long, broad wings. They are about 18-20 inches in length and weigh between 10 and 26 oz. About the size of a
They have a flat, owl-like face and a small, sharply hooked bill. They have long wings and a long tail. Wingspan is 38-48 inches.
Males are gray above and whitish below, and Females and immature adults are brown. All of them have a white rump patch that is easy to see during flight.
Habitat
Wide open spaces from the Arctic tundra of North America down through the Caribbean and Central America. Grasslands and wetlands with low, thick vegetation.
They breed in freshwater and brackish marshes, lightly grazed meadows, old fields, tundra, dry upland prairies, drained marshlands, high-desert shrub, and riverside woodlands across Canada and the northern United States.
During winter they use a range of habitats with low vegetation, including deserts, coastal sand dunes, pasturelands, croplands, dry plains, grasslands, old fields, estuaries, open floodplains, and marshes.
Behavior:
Fly with their wings held in a v-shape above the horizon. They fly low over the ground when hunting, weaving back and forth across fields and marshes watching and listening for small animals.
They eat on the ground, and they perch on low posts or trees.
They will migrate south from places that have lots of snowfall.
Most males have one or two mates at a time but can have up to 5 when food is abundant.
Males woo the females with sky-dancing displays that can reach 1,000 feet into the air and covering more than a half-mile area.
Male or female will pick the nesting site, and both defend it vigorously. Males will chase away other males, and females will chase away other females.
The males and females do aerial food exchanges during the nesting time. The male will go hunt and bring food back toward the nest. As it gets near it calls to the mate and she flies up to catch the prey he drops while flying by flipping upside down in mid-air. Once the young are old enough both parents hunt, and the young do the aerial food exchange although less expertly.
Nesting:
Nests are concealed on the ground in vegetation from grasslands or wetlands in a dense clump of vegetation such as willows, grasses, sedges, reeds, bulrushes, and cattails.
Males may start building the nest platform, but the females usually finish it and arrange the nesting materials.
The platform is made up of thick-stalked plants in the surrounding area like cattails or willows. The inner lining is made up of grasses or sedge-like material.
It usually takes 1-2 weeks to build and measures 16-24 inches across and 2-8 inches tall on the outside and then 8-10 inches across and 2-4 inches deep on the inside.
Offspring
They have one brood a year with a clutch size of 4-5 eggs. The incubation period for the eggs is about a month, then they are nestlings for about 2 weeks.
Baby Harriers are called eyas, not chicks like other birds.
Predators
Predators include coyotes, feral dogs, striped skunks, raccoons, red foxes, Crows, Ravens, and Great Horned Owls. Livestock and deer will sometime trample the eggs and nestlings underfoot too.
Diet
They are kind of owl-like hawks. Unlike other hawks, they rely heavily on their sense of hearing in addition to sight to capture prey.
They eat small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and birds, including songbirds which are their favorite.
Fun Facts
In winter they will roost in groups on the ground, sometimes with Short-eared Owls.
Juvenile males have pale greenish-yellow eyes, while juvenile females have dark chocolate-brown eyes. The eye color of both sexes changes gradually to lemon yellow by the time they reach adulthood.
Northern Harriers hunt mostly small mammals and small birds, but they are capable of taking bigger prey like rabbits and ducks. They sometimes subdue larger animals by drowning them.
The oldest Northern Harrier on record was a female and at least 15 years, 4 months old when she was captured and released in 2001 by a bird bander in Quebec. She was banded in New Jersey in 1986.
They can reach speeds of 25 Mph but prefer to soar low and slow.