Northern Harrier
Circus hudsonius · Hawks, Eagles, and Kites
Banding codeNOHA
Keys to identifying it
1Size & shape
About 18 in long.
2Color pattern
- Owl-like facial disk
- White rump patch
- Flies low with wings held in a V
3Habitat & season
Marshes, fields, grasslands
In northern Utah: year-round.
Seen most often in January and February.
Share of the region’s research-grade iNaturalist bird observations each month, scaled to this bird’s peak. Highlighted bars are its peak months.
4Voice
Mostly silent; chattering 'kek' calls near the nest.
“kek-kek-kek”
iNat 121725922 by Dan MacNeal · Ontario, CA · CC BY
Know it
- Has an owl-like facial disk and hunts partly by hearing.
- Glides low over marshes and fields with its wings held in a V.
- The silvery-gray adult male is nicknamed the 'gray ghost.'
- Some males have several mates at once.
Often confused with
Red-tailed Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Swainson's Hawk- Hen Harrier
From iNaturalist identification data for northern Utah.
From Wikipedia
The northern harrier, also known as the marsh hawk or ring-tailed hawk, is a bird of prey. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost United States.
Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0