Western Marsh Harrier

About the Western Marsh Harrier

The western marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus) is a large harrier, a bird of prey from temperate and subtropical western Eurasia and adjacent Africa. It is also known as the Eurasian marsh harrier. Formerly, a number of relatives were included in C. aeruginosus, which was then known as "marsh harrier". The related taxa are now generally considered to be separate species: the eastern marsh harrier (C. spilonotus), the Papuan harrier (C. spilothorax) of eastern Asia and the Wallacea, the swamp harrier (C. approximans) of Australasia and the Madagascar marsh harrier (C. maillardi) of the western Indian Ocean islands. The western marsh harrier is often divided into two subspecies, the widely migratory C. a. aeruginosus which is found across most of its range, and C. a.

Source: Wikipedia

Classification

Scientific name

Circus aeruginosus

Family

Hawks, Eagles, and Kites

Order

Accipitriformes

Similar species

Other members of the hawks, eagles, and kites family recorded in North America — a useful place to start if you are not certain of your identification.

• American Goshawk Astur atricapillus
• Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus
• Bicolored Hawk Astur bicolor
• Black Hawk-Eagle Spizaetus tyrannus
• Black Kite Milvus migrans
• Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle Spizaetus melanoleucus
• Black-collared Hawk Busarellus nigricollis
• Broad-winged Hawk Buteo platypterus
• Chinese Sparrowhawk Tachyspiza soloensis
• Common Black Hawk Buteogallus anthracinus
• Cooper's Hawk Astur cooperii
• Crane Hawk Geranospiza caerulescens