U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Submitted photoThe northern harrier likes agricultural lands and grasslands, where it hunts small mammals, birds and reptiles.

Northern harrier

Scientific name: Circus cyaneus

Characteristics: A midsized bird of prey with long, slender wings and tail; long, yellow legs; a white rump patch; and an owllike facial disc. Adults have different plumages: Males are pale bluish-gray above and light below, and have dark wingtips, while the females are brown above and have dark barring on their light-colored undersides. Juveniles are brown above and have orangish undersides and dark heads.

Breeding: Often builds a nest of sticks and grass atop a clump of vegetation or mound of soil. The nests are concealed by tall vegetation such as bulrushes, reeds or grasses. Up to nine pale blue eggs may be laid, which the female incubates for about a month.

Range: These harriers are found throughout North America during portions of the year and breed from the West and Midwest north into Alaska and Canada.

Habitat: Occurs in dry or wet areas such as wetlands, marshes, agricultural fields, grasslands and meadows.

Food: These birds prey on small birds, large insects, small reptiles and small mammals such as mice and voles. Their facial disc helps channel sound into their ears, thus they hunt by sight and/or sound.

Comments: Formerly called the marsh hawk for its tendency to be found in marshy areas. The name harrier is from an Old English word meaning “to harass or plunder.” The genus name is from a Greek word meaning “circle,” and the species name refers to a color of blue. In flight, the harriers often fly low to the ground with their wings held in a shallow “V.” A group of harriers is known as a “harassment” or “swarm.”

Current Viewing: Agricultural fields throughout Central Oregon, Hatfield and Redmond sewage ponds, Millican Valley and elsewhere.

— Damian Fagan is an East Cascades Audubon Society volunteer and COCC Community Learning instructor. He can be reached at damian.fagan@hotmail.com.

Sources: Oregon Department of Wildlife Resources and “The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds” by John Terres