Harrier (bird)
Circus | |
---|---|
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 | |
Aharrieris a member of the genusCircusin the abird of preyfamilyAccipitridae.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 ofC4grassesabout 6 to 8 million years ago during the Late Miocene and Pliocene.[1]
Taxonomy
[edit]ThegenusCircuswas introduced by the French naturalistBernard Germain de Lacépèdein 1799.[2]Thetype specieswas subsequently designated as thewestern marsh harrier.[3][4]Most harriers are placed in this genus. The wordCircusis derived from theAncient Greekkirkos,referring to a bird of prey named for its circling flight (kirkos,"circle" ), probably thehen harrier.[5]The nameharrieris thought to have been derived either fromHarrier (dog),or by a corruption ofharrower,or directly fromharry.[6]
The generaCircushas in the past been placed in thesubfamilyCircinae butmolecular phylogeneticstudies have shown that such a grouping ispolyphyleticforAccipitrinae.[7][8]The harrier-hawks in the genusPolyboroidesare not closely related and are placed in their own subfamily Polyboroidinae[8]
Ring-tails
[edit]Ring-tailis an informal term used bybirdersfor 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 ofMontagu's harrier(Circus pygargus),hen harrier(Circus cyaneus), andpallid harrier(Circus macrourus).
Species
[edit]The genus contains 16 species:[10]
Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
---|---|---|---|---|
Montagu's harrier | Circus pygargus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Eurasia, winters in Africa and India |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
Hen harrier | Circus cyaneus (Linnaeus, 1766) |
Eurasia |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
Northern harrier | Circus hudsonius (Linnaeus, 1766) |
North America[11] |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
Western marsh harrier | Circus aeruginosus (Linnaeus, 1758) Two subspecies
|
Europe, western Asia; winter range includes Africa and India. |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
Eastern marsh harrier | Circus spilonotus Kaup, 1847 |
Asia (migratory) | Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
African marsh harrier | Circus ranivorus (Daudin, 1800) |
southern and central Africa |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
Swamp harrier | Circus approximans (Peale, 1849) |
New Zealand, Australia, Pacific islands | Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
Papuan harrier
|
Circus spilothorax (Salvadori & D'Albertis, 1875) |
New Guinea |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
Malagasy harrier
|
Circus macrosceles (Newton, 1863) |
Indian Ocean (Madagascar and the Comoro Islands) | Size: Habitat: Diet: |
EN
|
Réunion harrier | Circus maillardi J. Verreaux, 1862 |
(Indian Ocean) Réunion Island |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
EN
|
Long-winged harrier | Circus buffoni (Gmelin, JF, 1788) |
South America |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
Spotted harrier | Circus assimilis (Jardine & Selby, 1828) |
Australia, Indonesia |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
Black harrier | Circus maurus (Temminck, 1828) |
southern Africa |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
EN
|
Cinereous harrier | Circus cinereus Vieillot, 1816 |
South America |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
Pallid harrier | Circus macrourus (S. G. Gmelin, 1770) |
migratory: eastern Europe, Asia, Africa (winter) |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
Pied harrier | Circus melanoleucos (Pennant, 1769) |
Asia | Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
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.PMID25701771.
- ^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.ISBN978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^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.ISBN978-3-319-73744-7.
- ^abCatanach, 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 genusAccipiter(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.Retrieved27 January2021.
- ^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.Retrieved6 December2022.
- ^Etherington, Graham J.; Mobley, Jason A. (2016)."Molecular phylogeny, morphology and life-history comparisons withinCircus cyaneusreveal the presence of two distinct evolutionary lineages ".Avian Research.7.doi:10.1186/s40657-016-0052-3.
External links
[edit]- Harrier videoson the Internet Bird Collection
- Harrier videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Newton, Alfred(1911). .Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 13 (11th ed.). p. 17.