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Cinereous Harrier - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Sussex bird man
Laguna Nimez, Calafate, Argentina, November 2005
Circus cinereus

Identification

Male - 40cm

  • Dark grey upperparts
  • White rump
  • Pale grey underparts
  • Rufous streaked belly
  • Black wing tips

Female - 50cm

  • Brown upperparts
  • White rump
  • Cream underparts
  • Streaked belly

Distribution

South America. Breeds from Colombia and Peru south through Chile, Paraguay, south-eastern Brazil, Uruguay and much of Argentina to Tierra del Fuego. A partial-migrant in south of range.

Rare visitor and probable former breeder in the Falkland Islands.

Female Cinereous Harrier. Photo © by THE_FERN. Route Y-405, Laguna Blanca, Magallanes, Chile, February 2024

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species[1], which was formerly treated as a race of either Hen Harrier C. cyaneus or Northern Harrier C. hudsonius by some authors.

Habitat

Found in marshes and open grasslands, maximum 4500m.

Behaviour

Breeding

It is a ground nester.

Diet

The diet includes small rodents, birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects.

References

  1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
  2. Wikipedia

Recommended Citation

External Links

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