About the Spotted Harrier
The spotted harrier also known as the smoke hawk, is a large Australasian bird of prey belonging to the family Accipitridae.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
ID tip
The spotted harrier is a medium-sized, slender bird of prey with adult females reaching 58–61 cm. Both adults and juvenile birds have an owl-like facial ruff that creates the appearance of a short, broad head as well as long yellow legs. The spotted harrier's wings feature prominent black tips and the tail is prominently barred and slightly wedge shaped. Adult males are much smaller than the females only growing to 50–55 cm. Adult birds have blue to grey upper parts with a chestnut face and underparts that feature numerous white spots.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where the Spotted Harrier lives
When to see the Spotted Harrier
Peak activity in September · a resident species across most of its range
Easily confused with
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).
Cinereous HarrierCircus cinereusThe male's plumage is dark grey above with black wingtips and a white rump.
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.
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