Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus) [XC792161]
by Bruno Durand from Arrondissement de Morlaix (near Lann\u00e9anou), Finistere, Brittany, France (flight call)
Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus) [XC737952]
by chambris from Arrondissement d'Amiens (near Daours), Somme, Hauts-de-France, France (flight call)
Nest
A depression on the ground, usually in heather, lined with rushes and grasses.
Eggs (Guide)
4 - 5; bluish-white, occasionally speckled with reddish-brown. Incubation: 36 - 37 days; by female.
Subspecies
Forms a superspecies with Cinereous Harrier (Circus cinereus), with which formerly considered conspecific.
Subspecies hudsonius may be separate species.
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
cyaneus (Linnaeus, 1766) - Europe and northern Asia east to Kamchatka. Winters from Europe and north-western Africa through southern Asia to south-eastern China and Japan.
hudsonius (Linnaeus, 1766) - North America, south to north-western Mexico and south-eastern Virginia (USA). Winters south to northern South America. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius).
The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7
BirdLife International Species Factsheet