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Spotted Harrier
Circus assimilis
Conservation Status
Listed as Vulnerable in New South Wales under the Threatened Species Conservation Act.
What does it look like?
It is a large, slim-bodied raptor (bird of prey) with a striking white-spotted chestnut breast and mainly blue-grey upper parts. It has an owl like chestnut coloured facial disc with a narrow light grey ruff around it and yellow eyes. It has long slender yellow legs and a long tail, with a wedge-shaped tip. Its long broad wings have dark, well rounded, ‘fingered’ tips. The female Spotted Harrier is larger than the male. It glides slowly with upswept wings. It is also called the Allied or Jardine’s Harrier or the Spotted Swamp-hawk.
Where does it live?
The species is widespread but sparsely distributed in mainland Australia and Indonesia. They are found in open wooded country in tropical and temperate Australia, particularly in arid and semi-arid areas. In response to local food conditions they can be partly nomadic. It hunts by day, quartering (systematically searching) low over the ground, gliding with up-swept wings. Its favourable prey include ground birds such as quail and pipits and also mice, rats, rabbits and lizards. It rarely eats carrion.
What is their life cycle?
The nest is built in trees in open or remnant woodland and is a large flimsy platform or twigs and sticks, lined with green leaves. The female Spotted Harrier incubates the eggs, broods and guards the young. The male hunts and brings food to the female.
Updated: 04 Jul 2011
Related Links
- Spotted Harrier - Vulnerable Species Determiniation - Scientific Committee - NSW Environment and Heritage