Northern Harrier, Circus cyaneus
The male Harrier is gray above and on the head and breast, sometimes (as here) with gray-brown mottling; below is white with fine red streaking or spotting.
The adult female, above, has brown upperparts with extensive and variable brown striping on the underparts, as shown below and further down the page. This picture and the one of the juvenile below both show the owl-like facial disk of the Northern Harrier, a distinguishing feature of the species; as with owls, the relatively flat face improves hearing by channeling sound toward the ears. The border around the face consists of feathers that the bird can erect, furthering the sound-directing effect of the facial disk.
The juvenile, above and the two below, has distinctive orange on the underparts, just visible on the flanks above: the "pumpkin-breast." The underparts are mostly clear, with a variable amount of light streaking."
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A good view of the adult male's light gray head, darker gray upperparts,
and mostly white underparts.
The scattered red markings on the adult male's underparts.
The distinctive flight of the harrier, foraging low over grass fields or marshes. Above, male, with distinct gray areas and some gray-brown on the upperparts. Below, female, with all-brown upperparts.
The breast and belly markings of the adult female vary from the relatively sharp streaks of the bird shown perched on the ground further up the page, to the moderately heavy blotchy brown markings of the bird just above, to the still heavier mostly dark brown breast on the bird just below, seen from directly below.
Juvenile "pumpkin-breasts" in flight, with variable amounts of fine streaking, almost absent above, fairly extensive below.
A pumpkin-breast lit up by the setting sun!