It is thinly scattered across the whole of New Guinea except for the Vogelkop peninsula in the west. There are several unconfirmed reports from Australia but the bird can easily be confused with the swamp harrier. It inhabits grassland and wetlands up to 3800 m above sea-level. It hunts low over open ground searching for small mammals, birds and lizards.
The adult male is usually silvery-grey with black head, throat, back and wing-markings and white underparts. Adult females are brown with a pale rump, barred tail and streaked underparts. Juveniles are blackish-brown with cream-coloured markings on the head, more extensive in the female. The length of the bird varies from 47 to 54 cm; females are larger than the males.
In the central highlands and the Sepik valley there is a dark morph; males of this form are mostly blackish with a grey tail and the females are mostly dark brown.
Referencesedit
Wikispecies has information related to Circus spilothorax.
^BirdLife International (2016). "Circus spilothorax". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T61709172A95177943. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T61709172A95177943.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
Brian J. Coates & William S. Peckover (2001), Birds of New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago: a photographic guide, Dove Publications, Alderley, Australia.
Graham Pizzey & Frank Knight (1997) The Graham Pizzey & Frank Knight Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, HarperCollins, London, UK.
January 01, 1970
papuan, harrier, circus, spilothorax, bird, prey, native, guinea, which, belongs, harrier, genus, circus, classified, subspecies, eastern, marsh, harrier, circus, spilonotus, eastern, asia, conservation, status, least, concern, iucn, scientific, classification. The Papuan harrier Circus spilothorax is a bird of prey native to New Guinea which belongs to the harrier genus Circus It was classified as a subspecies of the eastern marsh harrier Circus spilonotus of eastern Asia Papuan harrier Conservation status Least Concern IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classification Domain Eukaryota Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Aves Order Accipitriformes Family Accipitridae Genus Circus Species C spilothorax Binomial name Circus spilothoraxSalvadori amp D Albertis 1875 It is thinly scattered across the whole of New Guinea except for the Vogelkop peninsula in the west There are several unconfirmed reports from Australia but the bird can easily be confused with the swamp harrier It inhabits grassland and wetlands up to 3800 m above sea level It hunts low over open ground searching for small mammals birds and lizards The adult male is usually silvery grey with black head throat back and wing markings and white underparts Adult females are brown with a pale rump barred tail and streaked underparts Juveniles are blackish brown with cream coloured markings on the head more extensive in the female The length of the bird varies from 47 to 54 cm females are larger than the males In the central highlands and the Sepik valley there is a dark morph males of this form are mostly blackish with a grey tail and the females are mostly dark brown References edit nbsp Wikispecies has information related to Circus spilothorax BirdLife International 2016 Circus spilothorax IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016 e T61709172A95177943 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2016 3 RLTS T61709172A95177943 en Retrieved 20 November 2021 Brian J Coates amp William S Peckover 2001 Birds of New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago a photographic guide Dove Publications Alderley Australia Graham Pizzey amp Frank Knight 1997 The Graham Pizzey amp Frank Knight Field Guide to the Birds of Australia HarperCollins London UK Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Papuan harrier amp oldid 1190052189, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
