Hen harrier
Circus cyaneus (Linnaeus, 1766)
The hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) is a species in the family Accipitridae, order Accipitriformes. Recorded adults weigh 346 g to 527 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the hen harrier
- Weight
- 346 g – 527 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 1.1 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the hen harrier?
Photos of the hen harrier
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the hen harrier live?
Not recorded
What is the hen harrier?
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.
From the Wikipedia article “Hen harrier” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hen_harrier&oldid=1383342684), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the hen harrier endangered?
The hen harrier is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the hen harrier classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAccipitriformes
- familyAccipitridae
- genusCircus
- SpeciesCircus cyaneus (Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms Circus cinerarius, Circus communis, Circus cyaneus cyaneus, Circus nigripennis, Circus pallens, Circus taissiae, Falco cyaneus, Falco torquatus
Other names and names in other languages (110)
- HEHAEnglish
- Marsh hawkEnglish
- Northern harrierEnglish
- مرزة الدجاجArabic
- Alica azulAragonese
- BlanquínAsturian
- milán blanquínAsturian
- Tarla belibağlısıAzerbaijani
- Палявы луньBelarusian
- Полски блатарBulgarian
- Skoul louetBreton
- Arpella pàl·lidaCatalan
- arpella pàl·lida comunaCatalan
- Ныр кыльыMari
- Кӑвак хӑлатChuvash
- Кăвак хăлатChuvash
- moták pilichCzech
- boda tinwynWelsh
- Bodaod TinwynWelsh
- blå kærhøgDanish
- KornweiheGerman
- PuianéttEmilian
- ΟρνιθοσιάχινοGreek
- ΧειμωνόκιρκοςGreek
- blua cirkuoEsperanto
- Aguilucho pálidoSpanish
- Gavilán de CiénagaSpanish
- Gavilán rastreroSpanish
- Gavilán SabaneroSpanish
- välja-loorkullEstonian
- Mirotz zuriBasque
- سنقرPersian
- سنقر خاکستریPersian
- sinisuohaukkaFinnish
- FenheykurFaroese
- Jean-le-BlancFrench
- Busard Saint-MartinFrench
- Blä hanjügerNorthern Frisian
- Ant-eun fiormScottish Gaelic
- brèid air tòinScottish Gaelic
- brèidean air tòinScottish Gaelic
- clamhain nan cearcScottish Gaelic
- clamhain nan luchScottish Gaelic
- clamhan nan cearcScottish Gaelic
- clamhan nan luchScottish Gaelic
- cromán na gcearcScottish Gaelic
- gdèid-air-tòinScottish Gaelic
- GatafornelaGalician
- Shiragh ny giarkManx
- Shirragh ny giarkManx
- Gwo Malfini savannHaitian Creole
- זרון תכולHebrew
- eja strnjaricaCroatian
- kékes rétihéjaHungarian
- Դաշտային մկնաճուռակArmenian
- Մկնաճուռակ դաշտայինArmenian
- Elang-Rawa KelabuIndonesian
- BláheiðirIcelandic
- albanella realeItalian
- ハイイロチュウヒJapanese
- მინდვრის ძელქორიGeorgian
- Агайанkjn
- Түз құладыныKazakh
- 잿빛개구리매Korean
- Helghyer tynwynCornish
- WanterweiLuxembourgish
- WanterhénkeldéifLuxembourgish
- javinė lingėLithuanian
- lauku lijaLatvian
- сурварашMari
- полска ејаMacedonian
- വലിയ മേടുതപ്പിMalayalam
- Bugħadam Abjad PrimMaltese
- Цагаан элэгтMongolian
- Burung Lang Sayap HitamMalay
- myrhaukNorwegian Bokmål
- blauwe kiekendiefDutch
- błotniak zbożowyPolish
- tartaranhão-azuladoPortuguese
- Tartaranhão-cinzentoPortuguese
- tartaranhão-cinzento-eurasiáticoPortuguese
- Melv da graunRomansh
- Erete vânătRomanian
- eretele vânătRomanian
- eretele vânâtRomanian
- полевой луньRussian
- или обыкновенныйRussian
- JeaggehávutNorthern Sami
- jeaggefálliNorthern Sami
- kaňa siváSlovak
- pepelasti lunjSlovenian
- shqipja e fushësAlbanian
- Poljska ejaSerbian
- Пољска ејаSerbian
- Poljska eja - Пољска ejaSerbian
- blå kärrhökSwedish
- blåhökSwedish
- Kipondya KijivubuluuSwahili
- เหยี่ยวทุ่งแถบเหนือThai
- Mavi DoğanTurkish
- gokce deliceTurkish
- gökce deliceTurkish
- gökçe deliceTurkish
- Gökçe tuygunTurkish
- Шөл кускежизиTuvinian
- Лунь польовийUkrainian
- Diều henVietnamese
- 白尾鹞Chinese
- 灰澤鵟Chinese
- 灰澤鵟〔白尾鷂，北方灰鷂〕Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the hen harrier
Other species in the same genus Circus.
Western marsh harrier
Circus aeruginosus
Pallid harrier
Circus macrourus
Montagu's harrier
Circus pygargus
Pied harrier
Circus melanoleucos
Harrier hawk
Circus approximans
Eastern marsh harrier
Circus spilonotus
CompareHen harrier vs Western marsh harrierHen harrier vs Pallid harrierHen harrier vs Montagu's harrierHen harrier vs Pied harrier
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the hen harrier?
An adult hen harrier weighs 346 g – 527 g and has a wingspan of 1.1 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the hen harrier endangered?
The hen harrier is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the hen harrier?
The hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) belongs to the family Accipitridae in the order Accipitriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Hen harrier (Circus cyaneus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/hen-harrier
“Hen harrier (Circus cyaneus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/hen-harrier.
@misc{hen_harrier_2026,
title = {Hen harrier (Circus cyaneus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/hen-harrier},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}