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Kingdom: Animalia Northern Harrier |
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| Description
You are visitor # Last updated 11/12/02 |
Behavior:
During the nesting period the male does most of the hunting while the female watches the nest and chicks. When the male catches the prey, it flies high over the nest in direct flight. The female will fly up towards the male, the prey is dropped and the female catches the prey in the air (Bildstein1988). The female feeds the chicks, tearing the prey into small manageable pieces. If the female dies during the time the chicks depend on her for food, they will usually die also, because the male brings the prey to the nest but will not tear it into pieces, and the chicks will starve (Simmons 2000). Northern harriers hunt more by sound than by sight, usually flying low to the ground listening for their prey (Heintzelman 1979). Northern Harriers spend approximately 50% of the daylight hours searching for prey and flying about 100 miles a day over 65-100 ha(Gomes). |