The marsh harriers are

birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

of the harrier subfamily. They are medium-sized

raptor Raptor(s) or RAPTOR may refer to: Animals The word "raptor" refers to several groups of avian and non-avian dinosaurs which primarily capture and subdue/kill prey with their talons. * Raptor (bird) or bird of prey, a bird that primarily hunt ...

s and the largest and broadest-winged harriers. Most of them are associated with marshland and dense reedbeds. They are found almost worldwide, excluding only the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

. Until recently two species were generally recognized: the marsh harrier (''Circus aeruginosus'') and the

African marsh harrier The African marsh harrier (''Circus ranivorus'') is a bird of prey belonging to the harrier (bird), harrier genus ''Circus''. It is largely resident in wetland habitats in southern, central and eastern Africa from South Africa north to South Sudan ...

(''C. ranivorus''). The marsh harrier is now usually split into several species, sometimes as many as six. These are the

western marsh harrier The western marsh harrier (''Circus aeruginosus'') is a large harrier (bird), harrier, a bird of prey from temperate and subtropical western Palearctic, Eurasia and adjacent Africa. It is also known as the Eurasian marsh harrier. Formerly, a numb ...

(''C. aeruginosus''),

eastern marsh harrier The eastern marsh harrier (''Circus spilonotus'') 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 (''Circus aeruginosus'') but is now usually class ...

(''C. spilonotus''),

Papuan harrier The Papuan harrier (''Circus spilothorax'') is a bird of prey native to New Guinea which belongs to the harrier genus ''Circus''. It was classified as a subspecies of the eastern marsh harrier (''Circus spilonotus'') of eastern Asia. It is thi ...

(''C. spilonotus spilothorax'' or ''C. spilothorax''),

swamp harrier The swamp harrier (''Circus approximans''), also known as the Australasian marsh harrier or Australasian harrier, is a large, slim bird of prey widely distributed across Australasia. In New Zealand, it is also known by the Māori name . It arriv ...

(''C. approximans''),

Réunion harrier The Réunion harrier (''Circus maillardi''), also known as Réunion marsh harrier, is a species of bird of prey belonging to the marsh harrier group of harrier (bird), harriers. It is now found only on the Indian Ocean island of Réunion, althoug ...

(''C. maillardi maillardi'' or ''C. maillardi'') and Madagascar marsh harrier (''C. maillardi macrosceles'' or ''C. macrosceles''). At the beginning of the 20th century, the marsh harrier was hunted to extinction in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. After being reintroduced from other regions, its population steadily increased until

DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...

threatened it, along with other raptors, in the 1950s and 1960s. Since, the population has slowly and steadily increased.

Species

The

(''Circus aeruginosus''), often simply called the marsh harrier, breeds widely across

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. It is migratory except in the mildest regions, and winters mainly in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. It hunts small

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s and

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s, surprising them as it drifts low over fields and reedbeds. Its long legs allow it to pluck frogs and fish from the water mid-swoop. The western marsh harrier is a typical harrier, with long wings held in a shallow V in its low flight. It also resembles other harriers in having distinct male and female plumages, but its plumages are quite different from those of its relatives. The male has wings with grey and brown sections and black wingtips. Its head, tail and underparts are greyish, except for the chestnut belly. The female is mainly brown with a cream crown and cream leading edge to her wings. It is 19–22 inches long and weighs 1–2 lbs. The

(''C. spilonotus'') breeds in the grasslands and wetlands of southern

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

, northern

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

, north-east

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and migrates for the northern winter to

South-east Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Australian mainland, which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia i ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and northern

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

. Like all marsh harriers, it favours open, wet environments, and is frequently seen drifting low over rice fields, interspersing long, watchful circling glides with two or three slow, powerful wingbeats. Two subspecies are recognised: ''C. s. spilonotus'' of east Asia, and ''C. s. spilothorax'', of

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

and the islands nearby, which is sometimes thought to be a separate species and is often called the

. The

(''C. approximans'') at about 50 to 58 cm is slightly larger than ''C. spilonotus'', often a little darker, and has less heavily barred wings and tail. It is commonly found in suitable habitat anywhere in

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

, particularly in the higher rainfall areas to the east, south-east, and south-west, of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and throughout

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, but also in the tropical north of Australia and the island groups of

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

and the

Society Islands The Society Islands ( , officially ; ) are an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean that includes the major islands of Tahiti, Mo'orea, Moorea, Raiatea, Bora Bora and Huahine. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country ...

. It is also known as the Australasian harrier or Pacific marsh harrier. The Madagascar marsh harrier or Madagascar harrier (''C. maillardi'') is found on the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

islands of

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

and the

Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...

. It is sometimes split into two species: Madagascar harrier (''Circus macrosceles'') and Réunion harrier (''C. maillardi''). The

(''C. ranivorus'') is a distinct non-migratory species that has not usually been included as a subspecies of ''C. aeruginosus''. It inhabits southern and eastern

Gallery

File:Circus aeruginosus with prey.JPG, Western marsh harrier with prey, India File:Circus aeruginosus MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.82.5.jpg, ''Circus aeruginosus'' - MHNT File:Marsh Harrier Female.jpg, Marsh Harrier female File:MarshHarrier.jpg, alt=, Marsh Harrier in Northern Israel

References

{{Reflist * Roger Clarke (1995) ''The Marsh Harrier'', Hamlyn, London. * James Ferguson-Lees (2001) ''Raptors of the World'', Christopher Helm.

External links

Ageing and sexing (PDF) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta
Harriers (birds) Bird common names