Species

Northern harrier

Circus hudsonius

A slim, low-flying hawk with a white rump that hunts by sound over marshes and fields, its face shaped like an owl's.

Photo Frank Schulenburg (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

At a glance

Size: About 46 to 50 cm long; wingspan about 1 to 1.2 m
Weight: About 300 to 750 g
Habitat: Marshes, fields and grasslands
Diet: Voles, mice, rats, birds and frogs
In Georgia: A common winter visitor, September to April
Voice: Mostly silent in winter
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Slim; long wings held in a shallow V; long tail; white patch at the base of the tail; owl-like facial disc
Male: Grey above, white below, with black wingtips
Female and young: Brown
Told apart from: Red-tailed hawk, which is bulkier and soars with flat wings
Where to look: Flying low over marshes and fields

Behaviour

Harriers quarter low over grass and marsh, tilting from side to side, and use their owl-like facial discs to hear rodents moving beneath the vegetation.

Why they matter

Harriers eat large numbers of voles and rats in fields and marshes. They are one of the few hawks that hunt partly by hearing, a trait they share with owls.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A platform of grass on the ground in marsh or field
Eggs — Usually four to six
Incubation — About 30 to 32 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents; the male hunts
Flight — At about five weeks
Lifespan — Wild birds over fifteen years are recorded

Living around people

Rodenticides in fields poison harriers that eat affected rodents.

Misconceptions

Hawks hunt only by sight. Harriers use their hearing too.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Wintering	Wintering	Leaving	Last birds leave	Nesting farther north	Nesting	Chicks	Young flying	Arriving	Wintering	Wintering	Wintering

Where it lives

Recorded in 93 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

If you found one

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