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Circus cyaneus
Slow but agile in flight, the Hen Harrier is a rare and beautiful ground-nesting raptor of moorlands and other open habitats.
Hen Harrier
Hen Harrier (female)
Close up of a male Hen Harrier in flight
Female Hen Harrier in flight, Isle of Mull, Scotland
Scientific name:
Circus cyaneus
Other names:
Ringtail
Family:
Kites, hawks and eaglesConservation status:
Red
Length:
42cm to 52cm
Wingspan:
100cm to 120cm
Weight:
300g to 700g
The Hen Harrier is a fairly distinctive bird, although it may be confused with the similar Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pygargus).
Hen Harriers are medium-sized raptors with long legs, long tails, and small, owl-like faces. Males are silvery grey above with dark wing tips and a white rump. Seen from below, they are almost white with a grey chest and head. Their wings have black tips and a dark grey trailing edge.
Female Hen Harriers are predominantly brown above, with a white rump and a barred tail. The underparts appear mottled or streaked with beige in flight, and the tail and flight feathers are prominently banded. Eyes and legs are yellow in both sexes.
Male Hen Harrier
Female Hen Harrier
Juveniles appear very similar to females, although they tend to have warmer red-brown plumage below and darker upper parts.
The rare Montagu’s Harrier is confined to the south and east. Males can be identified by the dark steaks across the wings, while females have banded wing coverts. Both sexes have four (not five as in Hen Harrier) primary feathers at the wingtips.
Hen Harriers are medium-sized birds of prey, intermediate between the Sparrowhawk and the Buzzard.
Hen Harriers have a total body length of 42 to 52 centimetres.
These birds have a wide weight range. Males are significantly lighter at 300 to 400 grams, while females typically weigh 370 to 700 grams.
Adult Hen Harriers have a wingspan from 1 to 1.2 meters.
Female Hen Harrier in flight
Hen Harriers are generally silent except during courtship when males utter a cackling call that may be answered by the female. They also produce similar calls when threatened or alarmed.
Hen Harriers hunt over open uplands in search of live prey. Continue reading to learn about the Hen Harrier’s diet in the UK.
Hen Harriers will eat a variety of small vertebrates, although rodents and small birds are their main targets. Their largest prey includes rabbits and even small ducks.
Common Hen Harrier prey items:
Hen Harrier chicks rely on their parents for food, and birds and rodents are their usual diet. The adult birds tear the prey into manageable morsels until the birds can feed themselves.
Hen Harrier hunting for prey
Hen Harriers have a patchy distribution on the British Isles. Continue reading to learn where you can find these elegant but scarce raptors in the United Kingdom.
Hen Harriers are birds of open country with short vegetation. Typical habitats include:
Hen Harriers are widespread in the old world, occurring over much of Europe and across Asia to Japan in the east. Some also spend the winter near the Mediterranean coastline in North Africa.
In the United Kingdom, Hen Harriers breed in Scotland and upland areas of northern Wales, northern England, and Northern Ireland. They are more widespread in the winter when they visit low-lying areas around the English coastline.
Hen Harriers live in open environments where trees are scarce. They spend their lives hunting in low flight and perched on the ground or at low vantage points like rocks, stumps, and fence posts.
Hen Harrier in its natural habitat
Hen Harriers are a rare bird in the United Kingdom, with an estimated breeding population of just over a thousand pairs, most of which occur in Scotland.
Some of the best places to see Hen Harriers are up north in Orkney and the Isle of Arran, although birdwatchers can see these graceful raptors on the Isle of Man and the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire.
Hen harrier in flight from below
Hen Harriers have an average lifespan of seven years and a maximum recorded lifespan of over 16 years.
Adult Hen Harriers have few natural predators, although sick or injured individuals may be prey for carnivorous mammals like foxes. Their eggs and chicks are vulnerable to crows and foxes.
Hen Harriers are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981.
Hen Harriers are not officially endangered globally, although they are a species of conservation concern in the United Kingdom. The local population is small and vulnerable to habitat destruction and direct persecution, and as a result, these birds are on the UK’s red list.
Hen Harrier flying through the dunes in search of food
Hen Harriers are resident breeding birds in the United Kingdom. These birds begin nesting in the spring and produce a single brood each year.
Hen Harriers nest in heather moorland in upland areas of Wales, Northern England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland. These birds nest on the ground in a one to two-foot-wide stick and grass nest built by the female.
Hen Harriers generally lay four or five eggs per clutch, although nests may contain one to eight eggs. The eggs are plain whitish and measure an average of 46 millimetres long and 36 millimetres wide.
Hen Harriers are not strictly monogamous. Males often mate with two or more (rarely up to 7) females in the nesting season.
Hen Harrier looking for prey on the meadow, pictured from behind
Hen Harriers are most often seen quartering low over open country in search of food, although lucky birdwatchers may observe the males' spectacular sky dance display at the start of the nesting season. Continue reading to learn more about the Hen Harrier’s behaviour in the UK.
Hen Harriers may behave aggressively towards potential predators and other harriers that approach their nest. Chicks in the nest are also highly aggressive as they are so vulnerable to predators on the ground.
Hen Harriers sleep on the ground. They can be surprisingly gregarious outside of the nesting season, when small groups may gather to roost together at night.
Hen Harriers are most often seen quartering low over open country in search of food
Hen Harriers are hardy birds, although the open uplands are a harsh place to live in the winter. Continue reading to learn about their movements in the UK.
Hen Harriers make local movements within the UK between their upland breeding territories and lowland overwintering sites. Many Hen Harriers that breed in mainland Europe migrate across the open sea to overwinter in the south and east of England.
Hen Harriers are a native species in the United Kingdom.
Male and female Hen harriers are easy to tell apart, as males appear grey and white, whereas females are brown
Hen Harriers fly low and slow, looking and listening for prey on the ground below. They can stall or hover briefly but do not have the impressive abilities of a hovering Kestrel.
Hen Harriers got their name for their habit of hunting free-ranging chickens. They also eat similar gamebirds like Red Grouse, and sadly, this has led to their historical persecution by gamekeepers.
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