Listen to the Hen harrier
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the Hen harrier
The Hen harrier is a bird in the family Accipitridae (order Accipitriformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”. Adults have a wingspan of about 110 cm and weigh around 527 g.
What does the Hen harrier sound like?
Bird vocalisations are usually divided into songs – longer, often complex phrases used to defend territory and attract mates, sung mostly by males in the breeding season – and calls: short, simple sounds for contact, alarm, begging or flight.
The recordings here are labelled as begging call and flight call. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
The hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) is a bird of prey. It breeds in open areas such as marshes and grasslands in Eurasia and is migratory, moving further south outside of the breeding season. Birds in milder regions, such as France and Great Britain, may be resident year-round, but the higher altitudes are largely deserted in winter. The species is sexually dimorphic; males are smaller and mostly grey and white with black wingtips, whereas females average larger and are predominantly brown and have buff underparts with brown barring. Both sexes have a white rump patch, although it is more noticeable on females and juveniles.
The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl. The northern harrier (Circus hudsonius) was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the hen harrier.
More from the family Accipitridae
Golden eagle
Aquila chrysaetos
Eurasian sparrowhawk
Accipiter nisus
Eurasian goshawk
Astur gentilis
Black kite
Milvus migrans
Common buzzard
Buteo buteo
Bald eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Eurasian griffon vulture
Gyps fulvus
Red kite
Milvus milvus
Short-toed snake eagle
Circaetus gallicus
Booted eagle
Hieraaetus pennatus
Bonelli's eagle
Aquila fasciata
Black-winged kite
Elanus caeruleus
Frequently asked questions
What does a Hen harrier sound like?
You can hear 1 recording of the Hen harrier on this page, including its begging call and flight call. Bird vocalisations are usually divided into songs – longer, often complex phrases used to defend territory and attract mates, sung mostly by males in the breeding season – and calls: short, simple sounds for contact, alarm, begging or flight.
Is the Hen harrier endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Hen harrier as “least concern”.
What family does the Hen harrier belong to?
The Hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) belongs to the family Accipitridae in the order Accipitriformes.
Sources & credits
- Begging call, flight call · Maisonneuve, Vienne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France by Benoît Van Hecke – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q25572 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Hen harrier – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Александр Чегодаев – CC0 1.0