Northern Harrier
Northern Harrier
Adult male
- Lanky raptor, soaring on long, slender wings
- Long tail
- Adult males, known as "gray ghosts" are pale gray overall
- Black wing-tips contrast with mostly white underwings
- © Ganesh Jayaraman, CA, Bluff Top Coastal Park, Half Moon Bay, October 2009
Northern Harrier
Adult female
- Lanky, medium-sized raptor
- Often seen soaring low over open fields or marshes
- White rump patch
- Long, slender wings
- © Robinsegg, UT, Farmington Bay, February 2009
Northern Harrier
Adult female
- Long wings and tail
- Owl-like facial disc
- Female mostly brown with dark streaking on belly
- © Guy Litcher, MB, Oak Hammock Marsh, May 2012
Northern Harrier
Juvenile
- Frequently seen hovering and coursing over fields
- Lanky proportions with long, slender wings and long tail
- Juveniles show unmarked rusty/buffy underparts, chocolate-brown upperparts
- White rump patch
- © Lois Manowitz, AZ, Whitewater Draw, McNeal , November 2010
Northern Harrier
Adult male
- Adult males very pale and "ghostly" gray
- Long, slender wings
- Bright white under-wings contrast with black wing-tips
- Owl-like facial disc
- © Stuart Oikawa, MB, April 2012
Northern Harrier
Juvenile
- Medium-sized, lanky raptor with long wings and tail
- Often perches prominently on fence-posts or on ground
- Juvenile mostly brown above, pale buffy below
- Owl-like facial disc
- © Simon Richards, BC, Delta, May 2012
Similar Species
Light-morph adult
- Often observed in same habitat as Northern Harrier
- Stockier, with shorter tail and broader wings
- Dark patches on wings and belly
- White at base of under-tail
- © Raymond Lee, Beaver County, AB, October 2011
Adult
- Often seen in same habitat as Northern Harrier
- Stockier overall, with broader, more rounded wings
- Shorter tail
- © Cameron Rognan, Ovid, NY, January 2009
Immature
- Stockier than Northern Harrier with much shorter, rounded wings
- Tail longer proportionally with evenly-spaced dark bands
- No white rump patch
- No facial disc
- © Gerry Dewaghe, October 2008