Harrier (bird)
| Circus | |
|---|---|
| File:Circus aeruginosus Valencia 3.jpeg | |
| Western marsh harrier | |
| Scientific classification Edit this classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Accipitriformes |
| Family: | Accipitridae |
| Subfamily: | Accipitrinae |
| Genus: | Circus Lacépède, 1799 |
| Type species | |
| Falco aeruginosus Linnaeus, 1758
| |
| Species | |
A harrier is a member of the genus Circus in the a 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 C4 grasses about 6 to 8 million years ago during the Late Miocene and Pliocene.[1]
Taxonomy
The genus Circus was introduced by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1799.[2] The type species was subsequently designated as the western marsh harrier.[3][4] Most harriers are placed in this genus. The word Circus comes from the Ancient Greek κρέξ (kréx) referring to a long legged bird, and is possibly ultimately derived from an onomatopoeia.[5] The name harrier is thought to have been derived either from Harrier (dog), or by a corruption of harrower, or directly from harry.[6] The genera Circus has in the past been placed in the subfamily Circinae but molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that such a grouping is polyphyletic for Accipitrinae.[7][8] The harrier-hawks in the genus Polyboroides are not closely related and are placed in their own subfamily Polyboroidinae[8]
Ring-tails
Ring-tail is an informal term used by birders for the juveniles and females of several harrier species when seen in the field and not identifiable to an exact species.[9] Ring-tail harriers include the juveniles and females of Montagu's harrier (Circus pygargus), hen harrier (Circus cyaneus), and pallid harrier (Circus macrourus).
Species
The genus contains 16 species:[10]
| Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montagu's harrier
File:A Montagu's Harrier male roosting for the night (50971610728).jpg |
Circus pygargus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Eurasia, winters in Africa and India Map of range |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
| Hen harrier | Circus cyaneus (Linnaeus, 1766) |
Eurasia Map of range |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
| Northern harrier | Circus hudsonius (Linnaeus, 1766) |
North America[11] Map of range |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
| Western marsh harrier | Circus aeruginosus (Linnaeus, 1758) Two subspecies
|
Europe, western Asia; winter range includes Africa and India. Map of range |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
| Eastern marsh harrier | Circus spilonotus Kaup, 1847 |
Asia (migratory) | Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
| African marsh harrier | Circus ranivorus (Daudin, 1800) |
southern and central Africa Map of range |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
| Swamp harrier
File:Circus approximans -Hamilton Zoo, New Zealand-8a (cropped).jpg |
Circus approximans (Peale, 1849) |
New Zealand, Australia, Pacific islands | Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
| Papuan harrier
|
Circus spilothorax (Salvadori & D'Albertis, 1875) |
New Guinea Map of range |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
| Malagasy harrier
|
Circus macrosceles (Newton, 1863) |
Indian Ocean (Madagascar and the Comoro Islands) | Size: Habitat: Diet: |
EN
|
| Réunion harrier
File:Papangue Femelle, Route forestière de la Plaine d'Affouche, Parc National de La Réunion.jpg |
Circus maillardi J. Verreaux, 1862 |
(Indian Ocean) Réunion Island Map of range |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
EN
|
| Long-winged harrier | Circus buffoni (Gmelin, JF, 1788) |
South America Map of range |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
| Spotted harrier | Circus assimilis (Jardine & Selby, 1828) |
Australia, Indonesia Map of range |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
| Black harrier | Circus maurus (Temminck, 1828) |
southern Africa Map of range |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
EN
|
| Cinereous harrier | Circus cinereus Vieillot, 1816 |
South America Map of range |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
| Pallid harrier | Circus macrourus (S. G. Gmelin, 1770) |
migratory: eastern Europe, Asia, Africa (winter) Map of range |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
| Pied harrier | Circus melanoleucos (Pennant, 1769) |
Asia | Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
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Fossils
- † Eyles's harrier, Circus eylesi (prehistoric)
- † Wood harrier, Circus dossenus (prehistoric)
References
- ↑ Oatley, Graeme; Simmons, Robert E.; Fuchs, Jérôme (2015). "A molecular phylogeny of the harriers (Circus, Accipitridae) indicate the role of long distance dispersal and migration in diversification". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 85: 150–60. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2015.01.013. PMID 25701771.
- ↑ Lacépède, Bernard Germain de (1799). "Tableau des sous-classes, divisions, sous-division, ordres et genres des oiseux". Discours d'ouverture et de clôture du cours d'histoire naturelle (in français). Paris: Plassan. p. 4. Page numbering starts at one for each of the three sections.
- ↑ Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1979). Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 316.
- ↑ Lesson, René P. (1828). Manuel d'ornithologie, ou Description des genres et des principales espèces d'oiseaux (in French). Vol. 1. Paris: Roret. p. 105.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ↑ Beekes, Robert (2010). Etymological Dictionary of Greek. pp. 702, 776. ISBN 9789004174207.
- ↑ Hogg, John (1845). "A catalogue of birds observed in South-eastern Durham and in North-western Cleveland". The Zoologist. 3: 1049–1063.
- ↑ Mindell, D.; Fuchs, J.; Johnson, J. (2018). "Phylogeny, taxonomy, and geographic diversity of diurnal raptors: Falconiformes, Accipitriformes, and Cathartiformes". In Sarasola, J.H.; Grange, J.M.; Negro, J.J. (eds.). Birds of Prey: Biology and conservation in the XXI century. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. pp. 3–32. ISBN 978-3-319-73744-7.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Catanach, T.A.; Halley, M.R.; Pirro, S. (2024). "Enigmas no longer: using ultraconserved elements to place several unusual hawk taxa and address the non-monophyly of the genus Accipiter (Accipitriformes: Accipitridae)". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society: blae028. doi:10.1093/biolinnean/blae028.
- ↑ "Harriers in India: A Field Guide" (PDF). wwt.org.uk. Wetland Link International. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- ↑ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2022). "Hoatzin, New World vultures, Secretarybird, raptors". IOC World Bird List Version 12.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- ↑ Etherington, Graham J.; Mobley, Jason A. (2016). "Molecular phylogeny, morphology and life-history comparisons within Circus cyaneus reveal the presence of two distinct evolutionary lineages". Avian Research. 7. doi:10.1186/s40657-016-0052-3.
External links
- Harrier videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Harrier videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Newton, Alfred (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). p. 17.
