About the Eastern Marsh Harrier
The eastern marsh harrier 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 but is now usually classified as a separate species. It has two subspecies: C. s. spilonotus in eastern Asia and C. s. spilothorax in New Guinea.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
ID tip
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 the head and a pale patch on the underwing.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
What the Eastern Marsh Harrier sounds like
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in North Korea.
When to see it
Peak activity in January · a winter visitor species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Long-winged HarrierCircus buffoniThe long-winged is mid-sized bird of prey, and like most birds of prey species, the females are larger than the males.
Cinereous HarrierCircus cinereusThe male's plumage is dark grey above with black wingtips and a white rump.
African Marsh HarrierCircus ranivorusAfrican Marsh harrier females are larger than males and they are 44–47 centimetres (17–19 in) in length, with females being about 30% heavier than males (Simmons and Simmons 2000).
Learn the Eastern Marsh Harrier for real
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