Description
Swamp Harrier (Circus approximans) male, Peter Murrel Reserve, Kingston, Tasmania
Date 3 September 2011, 12:05
Author JJ Harrison (jjharrison89@facebook.com) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:JJ_Harrison
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Circus_approximans_-_Peter_Murrel.jpg

The swamp harrier (Circus approximans) also known as the marsh harrier, Australasian harrier, kāhu, swamp-hawk or New Zealand hawk. It is large, slim, and the most common bird of prey in New Zealand countryside. The swamp harrier belongs to the sub-family Circinae and genus Circus, which are represented worldwide, except Antarctica. The sub-family and genus are derived from the characteristic behavior of circling flight during courtship and hawking. Order: Accipitriformes, Family: Accipitridae, Genus: Circus, Species: Circus approximans Peale, 1848.