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 LC    Spotted Harrier* Id (Atlas): 218
    Circus assimilis

Description (10)
Image of Spotted Harrier
  Large raptor with a long tail and long wings with dark, fingered tips. Sexes similar, but female larger than male.

Adults: Slate grey above with rufous shoulder patches showing between carpal joint and body in flight. Head, face rufous. Underparts, rufous densely spotted white. Tail, grey with several broad dark bands and a dark tip. Bill, black. Legs and cere, yellow.

Juveniles: Similar to adults but back brown with buff edges to feathers and a pale rump. Underparts, pale chestnut.


Other Names (World)
Spotted Harrier, Allied Harrier, Jardine's Harrier, Spotted Swamphawk

Family
Accipitridae (Hawks, Eagles)

Size
53 - 60 cm

First Described (Guide)
Jardine & Selby, 1828

Derivation
Cir'-cus - Gk, circos, hawk: as-sim'-i-lis - L., similar

Remarks
As an aid to identification in flight the following silhouettes may be of assistance



Gliding


Soaring

Abundance (Guide)
MC

Common in the drier inland areas. Nomadic and irruptive in response to abundant food sources (eg. rodents, quail).

Habitat
Open grasslands and shrublands, spinifex, saltbush, open woodlands, cultivated lands and similar low vegetation.

Range (Guide)
Australia (B), Indonesia (B).

Vagrant to Timor-Leste (NB).

Australia; Sulawesi and Sula Is (central Moluccas). Also recorded on Sumba and Timor (Lesser Sundas), but probably migrants.
 
Image of Range of Spotted Harrier
Australia generally, but less common in coastal areas. Vagrant to Tasmania.
 
Rarity Status
View Rarity Status Information

Population
Estimated population is 100,000 - 1,000,000 (2010).

Status LC
Secure.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
Singly or in pairs.

Food
Birds, reptiles and small mammals, procured both in the air and from the ground.

Voice
A high-pitched chipping sound near the nest. A 'see-eep' call when feeding and a soft 'kitter kitter kitter' when chattering between pairs.



Xeno-Canto Sound Files

 
Spotted Harrier (Circus assimilis) [XC194155]
     by id from Toraut, Sulawesi, Indonesia (call)

Breeding Season (Guide)
Mainly August - October.

J F M A M J J A S O N D
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


Nest
A loose construction, composed of sticks, and lined with leaves, usually concealed in a bushy tree.

Eggs (Guide)
2 - 4; white or blue-tinged; rounded-oval; about 48 x 40 mm. Incubation: 32 - 34 days.

Young
Semi-altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in 4 - 6 weeks.

Subspecies
Formerly recognized subspecies quirindus of Sulawesi doubtfully valid.

No subspecies.

Similar Species
Swamp Harrier (Circus approximans)
Old, pale males. Has a white rump. Lacks barring in the tail.

Compare Images


References
See References.

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9

More... see more information (images, calls, videos etc)


Files:
JPG files for Spotted Harrier (Circus assimilis) - 10 filesMP3 files for Spotted Harrier (Circus assimilis) - 1 files


More Information

BirdLife International

For more information about the Spotted Harrier see... Show Articles BirdLife International Species Factsheet.


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