Stats

Lifespan: 10-16 yrs
Size: Medium
Diet: Carnivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Freshwater wetland
Range: North America
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Speed
Status: Common

About

Northern Harriers are small birds of prey that breed in the northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost United States. They are easily identifiable by their distinctive ring-shaped tails, which they use to mark territory and communicate with other birds.

Life cycle

1.
egg
One or two eggs are incubated on a high stick nest or cliff ledge, guarded closely by the pair.
2.
hatchling
A downy hatchling is fed torn meat by its parents and grows quickly in a high nest.
3.
juvenile
A feathered juvenile fledges from the nest, learning to soar and to make its first kills.
4.
adult
Fully grown, hunting on its own with adult plumage.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Circus
Species: Circus hudsonius