A long-winged, long-tailed hawk of open grassland and marshes, the Northern Harrier forages by flying slowly low above the ground looking for small rodents.It is a medium-sized hawk with a long tail, long, slender, rounded wings, and a white rump. It flies low with the wings held up in a slight "V". There is a ruff of feathers around the face with yellow skin at the base of a dark bill with bluish base. The eyes are yellow while the legs and feet are orange-yellow. It is one of the few raptors in which the sexes look quite different. In the male, the head, back, and upper chest are light gray. The chest and belly are white, usually with some rusty markings extending onto flanks. The wingtips are black with a line of black on the rear of the wings. The underwings are white. The tail is darkish gray above and whitish below, with some barring. The rump is white. The female has a dark brown back with many feathers edged with tawny. The face is streaked brown and whitish and is outlined by a white facial disk. The chest and belly are streaked dirty white and tan. The rump is white. The upper side of the wings is brown while the lower side is barred white and dark brown. The tail is brown with dark bars.Most male Northern Harriers are mated to one or two females at the same time. Some males pair with up to five mates in a season. Females incubate the eggs and brood the offspring, while the male provides the bulk of the food for his mates and their nestlings. Unlike other hawks, the Northern Harrier relies on its hearing as well as its vision to capture prey. The feathers of the face are stiff to help transmit sound, and it shows a pronounced "facial disk," much like that of an owl. The Northern Harrier feeds primarily on mice, other small mammals, and small birds. It will, however, take larger prey, such as rabbits and ducks. It has been known to subdue large prey by drowning it.(Cornell Lab of Ornithology. All About Birds (Online)). |
