Western Marsh-Harrier
Circus aeruginosus
Silhouette: Mathieu Pélissié · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderAccipitriformes (Hawks, Eagles, Kites, and Allies)
- FamilyAccipitridae (Hawks, Eagles, and Kites)
- GenusCircus (Harriers)
- SpeciesCircus aeruginosus (Western Marsh-Harrier)
About the Western Marsh-Harrier
The western marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus) is a large harrier, a bird of prey from temperate and subtropical western Eurasia and adjacent Africa. It is also known as the Eurasian marsh harrier. Formerly, a number of relatives were included in C. aeruginosus, which was then known as "marsh harrier". The related taxa are now generally considered to be separate species: the eastern marsh harrier (C. spilonotus), the Papuan harrier (C. spilothorax) of eastern Asia and the Wallacea, the swamp harrier (C. approximans) of Australasia and the Madagascar marsh harrier (C. maillardi) of the western Indian Ocean islands.
The western marsh harrier is often divided into two subspecies, the widely migratory C. a. aeruginosus which is found across most of its range, and C. a. harterti which is resident all-year in north-west Africa. The western marsh harrier was scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Falco aeruginosus. Linnaeus specified the locality as Europe but restricted this to Sweden in 1761. The western marsh harrier is now placed in the genus Circus that was introduced by Bernard Germain de Lacépède... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Western Marsh-Harrier in Kaziranga National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Kaziranga National Park
Hen Harrier
Circus cyaneus
Pied Harrier
Circus melanoleucos
Eastern Marsh-Harrier
Circus spilonotus
Gray-headed Fish-Eagle
Icthyophaga ichthyaetus
Crested Serpent Eagle
Spilornis cheela
Pallas's Fish Eagle
Haliaeetus leucoryphus
Slender-billed Vulture
Gyps tenuirostris
Himalayan Vulture
Gyps himalayensis
Crested Hawk-Eagle
Nisaetus cirrhatus
Oriental Honey-buzzard
Pernis ptilorhynchus
Greater Spotted Eagle
Aquila clanga
Black-winged Kite
Elanus caeruleus
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.