One of the 3 harriers on WAnimals
Birds · Accipitriformes · Accipitridae
Hen Harrier
Circus cyaneus
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary
A medium-sized raptor with long wings and tail and very long tarsi. The male is grey-toned with black primary tips and an unbarred white belly; the female, much larger, is brown and mottled. It hunts by gliding low and slow with its wings in a V.
Weight
400 g – 700 g
Size
40 cm – 50 cm
Diet
Carnivore
Feeds mainly on other animals.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
In pairs
Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Fun facts
- GeneralThe males perform a roller-coaster display flight of zigzagging dives.
- It has exceptional hearing for a diurnal raptor, thanks to a facial disc like an owl's that lets it locate prey hidden in the grass.
- Because it nests on the ground in crops, mechanised cereal harvesting kills unfledged chicks every year; in Catalonia its conservation has depended on locating the nests and leaving the area around them uncut.
- The Spanish population marks the southern limit of its Palaearctic breeding distribution.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
- Habitat & environment
- Moorland, low scrub and cereal steppe
- Sexual maturity
- 12 months
- Gestation / incubation
- 31 days
- Litter / clutch size
- 4-6 eggs, with a single clutch a year from late March on. It nests on the ground
Sources consulted: SEO/BirdLife (ficha y III Atlas de las aves en época de reproducción en España); IUCN Red List; Asturnatura; Arroyo, Molina y Del Moral 2019, El aguilucho cenizo y el aguilucho pálido en España (SEO/BirdLife); Arroyo 2022, III Atlas; García y Arroyo 2001, Ardeola
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: All year round in the north of the peninsula; in the rest of Spain, mainly from October to March
Where to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 10 de 153 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Hen Harrier — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Lesser Spotted Eagle
Clanga pomarina
Common Buzzard
Buteo buteo
Booted Eagle
Hieraaetus pennatus
Bonelli's Eagle
Aquila fasciata
Montagu's Harrier
Circus pygargus
Eastern Imperial Eagle
Aquila heliaca
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