Harrier (bird)
| Circus | |
|---|---|
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| Western marsh harrier | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Accipitriformes |
| Family: | Accipitridae |
| Subfamily: | Accipitrinae |
| Genus: | Circus Lacépède, 1799 |
| Type species | |
| Falco aeruginosus Linnaeus, 1758
| |
| Species | |
A harrier is a member of the genus Circus in the a bird of prey family Accipitridae. Harriers characteristically hunt by flying low over open ground, feeding on small mammals, reptiles, or birds. The young of the species are sometimes referred to as ring-tail harriers. They are distinctive with long wings, a long narrow tail, the slow and low flight over grasslands and skull peculiarities. The harriers are thought to have diversified with the expansion of grasslands and the emergence of C4 grasses about 6 to 8 million years ago during the Late Miocene and Pliocene.[1]
Taxonomy
[edit]
The genus Circus was introduced by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1799.[2] The type species was subsequently designated as the western marsh harrier.[3][4] Most harriers are placed in this genus. The word Circus is derived from the Ancient Greek kirkos, referring to a bird of prey named for its circling flight (kirkos, "circle"), probably the hen harrier.[5] The name harrier is thought to have been derived either from Harrier (dog), or by a corruption of harrower, or directly from harry.[6]
The genera Circus has in the past been placed in the subfamily Circinae but molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that such a grouping is polyphyletic for Accipitrinae.[7][8] The harrier-hawks in the genus Polyboroides are not closely related and are placed in their own subfamily Polyboroidinae[8]
Ring-tails
[edit]Ring-tail is an informal term used by birders for the juveniles and females of several harrier species when seen in the field and not identifiable to an exact species.[9] Ring-tail harriers include the juveniles and females of Montagu's harrier (Circus pygargus), hen harrier (Circus cyaneus), and pallid harrier (Circus macrourus).
Species
[edit]The genus contains 16 species:[10]
- Montagu's harrier, Circus pygargus – Eurasia, winters in Africa and India
- Hen harrier, Circus cyaneus – Eurasia
- Northern harrier, Circus hudsonius – North America[11]
- Western marsh harrier, Circus aeruginosus – Europe, western Asia; winter range includes Africa and India.
- Eastern marsh harrier, Circus spilonotus – Asia (migratory)
- African marsh harrier, Circus ranivorus – southern and central Africa
- Swamp harrier, Circus approximans – New Zealand, Australia, Pacific islands
- Papuan harrier, Circus spilothorax – New Guinea (formerly treated as a subspecies of C. spilonotus, then C. approximans, but now considered distinct)
- Malagasy harrier, Circus macrosceles (formerly in C. maillardi) – Indian Ocean (Madagascar and the Comoro Islands)
- Réunion harrier, Circus maillardi – (Indian Ocean) Réunion Island
- Long-winged harrier, Circus buffoni – South America
- Spotted harrier, Circus assimilis – Australia, Indonesia
- Black harrier, Circus maurus – southern Africa
- Cinereous harrier, Circus cinereus – South America
- Pallid harrier, Circus macrourus – migratory: eastern Europe, Asia, Africa (winter)
- Pied harrier, Circus melanoleucos – Asia
Fossils
[edit]- † Eyles's harrier, Circus eylesi (prehistoric)
- † Wood harrier, Circus dossenus (prehistoric)
References
[edit]- ^ Oatley, Graeme; Simmons, Robert E.; Fuchs, Jérôme (2015). "A molecular phylogeny of the harriers (Circus, Accipitridae) indicate the role of long distance dispersal and migration in diversification". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 85: 150–60. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2015.01.013. PMID 25701771.
- ^ Lacépède, Bernard Germain de (1799). "Tableau des sous-classes, divisions, sous-division, ordres et genres des oiseux". Discours d'ouverture et de clôture du cours d'histoire naturelle (in French). Paris: Plassan. p. 4. Page numbering starts at one for each of the three sections.
- ^ Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1979). Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 316.
- ^ Lesson, René P. (1828). Manuel d'ornithologie, ou Description des genres et des principales espèces d'oiseaux (in French). Vol. 1. Paris: Roret. p. 105.
- ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 109. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ Hogg, John (1845). "A catalogue of birds observed in South-eastern Durham and in North-western Cleveland". The Zoologist. 3: 1049–1063.
- ^ Mindell, D.; Fuchs, J.; Johnson, J. (2018). "Phylogeny, taxonomy, and geographic diversity of diurnal raptors: Falconiformes, Accipitriformes, and Cathartiformes". In Sarasola, J.H.; Grange, J.M.; Negro, J.J. (eds.). Birds of Prey: Biology and conservation in the XXI century. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. pp. 3–32. ISBN 978-3-319-73744-7.
- ^ a b Catanach, T.A.; Halley, M.R.; Pirro, S. (2024). "Enigmas no longer: using ultraconserved elements to place several unusual hawk taxa and address the non-monophyly of the genus Accipiter (Accipitriformes: Accipitridae)". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society: blae028. doi:10.1093/biolinnean/blae028.
- ^ "Harriers in India: A Field Guide" (PDF). wwt.org.uk. Wetland Link International. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2022). "Hoatzin, New World vultures, Secretarybird, raptors". IOC World Bird List Version 12.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- ^ Etherington, Graham J.; Mobley, Jason A. (2016). "Molecular phylogeny, morphology and life-history comparisons within Circus cyaneus reveal the presence of two distinct evolutionary lineages". Avian Research. 7. doi:10.1186/s40657-016-0052-3.
External links
[edit]
- Harrier videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Harrier videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Newton, Alfred (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). p. 17.
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