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This "marsh hawk" can be found gliding low
over farm fields and marshes throughout the Imperial Valley.
Male harriers have gray-white bodies, while the females and young harriers are brown. All of them have a noticeable white horizontal stripe or patch on the rump of their tail feathers. While I have observed males swooping through the trees on campus and at backyard feeders chasing smaller birds, it appears to me that the more commonly seen females prefer open country for their hunting. |
If you are interested in learning more about this bird online - I recommend you start with the Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD. http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/infocenter.htmlThey present photographs, songs, identification tips, maps, and life history information for North American birds - including the Northern Harrier
OTHER OUTSIDE LINKS FOR THIS BIRD:
Birds of BC - Excellent image of the typical low-gliding hunting flight of a male Northern Harrier displayed on "BC Adventure" (British Columbia) Web site in Canada.
Raptor Facts - Informative Web page displayed by the University of Minnesota's "The Raptor Center."
The following "WAV" format sound file is copyrighted by Doug Von Gausig of Sedona, Arizona, as part of "The Sounds of Nature" Web site at www.naturesongs.com:
- http://www.naturesongs.com/noha1.wav - Female Harrier
This site is maintained by:
Eldon R. Caldwell
Imperial Valley College
Email: eldonc@imperial.cc.ca.us