Swamp harrier
Circus approximans Peale, 1849
The swamp harrier (Circus approximans) is a species in the family Accipitridae, order Accipitriformes. Recorded adults weigh 640 g to 870 g and live up to 17.3 years. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
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Quick facts about the swamp harrier
- Weight
- 640 g – 870 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 1.18 m – 1.45 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 17.3 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 18 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.5 – 3.77src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
How big is the swamp harrier?
Where does the swamp harrier live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The swamp harrier is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the swamp harrier?
The swamp harrier (Circus approximans), also known as the Australasian marsh harrier or Australasian harrier, is a large, slim bird of prey widely distributed across Australasia. In New Zealand, it is also known by the Māori name kāhu. It arrived in New Zealand within the last 700 years, replacing the larger species, the extinct New Zealand endemic Eyles's harrier.
The swamp harrier belongs to the subfamily Circinae and genus Circus, which are represented worldwide, except Antarctica. The subfamily and genus are derived from the characteristic behaviour of circling flight during courtship and hawking.
From the Wikipedia article “Swamp harrier” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Swamp_harrier&oldid=1356579104), 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 swamp harrier endangered?
The swamp 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 swamp harrier classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAccipitriformes
- familyAccipitridae
- genusCircus
- SpeciesCircus approximans Peale, 1849
Synonyms Circus approximans approximans, Circus approximans gouldi, Circus gouldi
Other names and names in other languages (48)
- Australasian harrierEnglish
- Australasian harrierEnglish
- Australasian harrier hawkEnglish
- Australasian marsh harrierEnglish
- Australasian marsh-harrierEnglish
- Harrier hawkEnglish
- عقيب المستنقعاتArabic
- مرزة المستنقعاتArabic
- عقيب المستنقعات الأستراليةArabic
- arpella del PacíficCatalan
- moták tichomořskýCzech
- boda’r Môr TawelWelsh
- Australsk RørhøgDanish
- SumpfweiheGerman
- Αυστραλιανός ΒαλτόκιρκοςGreek
- aŭstralazia cirkuoEsperanto
- Aŭstralazia marĉa cirkuoEsperanto
- Aguilucho lagunero del PacíficoSpanish
- lõuna-loorkullEstonian
- australiansuohaukkaFinnish
- Busard de GouldFrench
- australska ejaCroatian
- mocsári rétihéjaHungarian
- Elang-rawa coklatIndonesian
- Albanella australasiaticaItalian
- ミナミチュウヒJapanese
- fidžinė lingėLithuanian
- KāhuMāori
- Pacifische Bruine KiekendiefDutch
- Australische Bruine KiekendiefDutch
- australsivhaukNorwegian
- błotniak moczarowyPolish
- bwaholeepme
- tartaranhão-da-oceâniaPortuguese
- tartaranhão-do-pacíficoPortuguese
- tartaranhão-dos-pauis-do-pacíficoPortuguese
- Болотый луньRussian
- Тихоокеанский луньRussian
- Австралийский болотный луньRussian
- kaňa barinnáSlovak
- Australazijska ejaSerbian
- australisk kärrhökSwedish
- Manu 'amu mo'ATahitian
- TaiseniTongan
- Bataklık DelicesiTurkish
- лунь південнийUkrainian
- 沼泽鹞Chinese
- 沼澤鷂Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the swamp harrier
Other species in the same genus Circus.
Hen harrier
Circus cyaneus
Western marsh harrier
Circus aeruginosus
Pallid harrier
Circus macrourus
Montagu's harrier
Circus pygargus
Pied harrier
Circus melanoleucos
Eastern marsh harrier
Circus spilonotus
CompareSwamp harrier vs Hen harrierSwamp harrier vs Western marsh harrierSwamp harrier vs Pallid harrierSwamp harrier vs Montagu's harrier
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the swamp harrier?
An adult swamp harrier weighs 640 g – 870 g and has a wingspan of 1.18 m – 1.45 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Where does the swamp harrier live?
Catalogue of Life checklists list the swamp harrier for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.
Is the swamp harrier endangered?
The swamp harrier is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the swamp harrier live?
The swamp harrier has a recorded lifespan of 17.3 years.
What kind of animal is the swamp harrier?
The swamp harrier (Circus approximans) 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.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - 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). Swamp harrier (Circus approximans). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/swamp-harrier
“Swamp harrier (Circus approximans).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/swamp-harrier.
@misc{swamp_harrier_2026,
title = {Swamp harrier (Circus approximans)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/swamp-harrier},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}