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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/northern-harrier-7522-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"northern-harrier-7522-ron-dudley\\"")
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1\/2000, f\/8, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon 100-400 @ 400mm, 1.4 tc, canvas added for composition, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n I took this photo of a Northern Harrier hunting along the causeway to Antelope Island in January of 2015. As soon as I saw it on my big screen that single, almost black, central tail feather jumped out at me so I asked Jerry Liquori about it. Jerry is a noted authority on raptor ID – he’s written several highly respected books on the subject and really knows his stuff. Jerry said that it’s pretty typical for harriers to have two central tail feathers that are darker or less marked than the others.<\/p>\n So I looked back on some of my older photos of harriers where I could see the dorsal surface of their flared tails and sure enough…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n many of them, though not all, had two central tail feathers what were noticeably darker, and\/or less marked, than the others.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This one was drying out after a wet snow but even sopping wet the two darker central tail feathers are apparent.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n In this photo three harriers are fighting over prey. The darker central tail feathers can be seen in two of them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Even from a distance the darker tail feathers can be apparent. A pretty good field mark, actually.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n So why did I say in my title that the harrier in photo # 1 was “unusual” if dark central tail feathers are typical? Notice that Jerry said that it’s typical for harriers to have two<\/span> central tail feathers that are dark. My harrier has only one so he called that bird “unusual”. He told me that the single dark feather\u00a0is not the result of a normal molt cycle, but instead its predecessor had either been pulled out or damaged and then replaced independent of the\u00a0cycle.<\/p>\n Jerry provided me a link to a blog post on the subject he wrote for HawkWatch International. Some blog followers may be interested in his explanation and photos that can be seen here<\/a><\/span><\/span>, especially the photo of a juvenile Northern Harrier.<\/p>\n Thanks, Jerry.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A plumage feature of Northern Harriers that most folks don’t notice and this particular bird shows an unusual variation on the theme.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/northern-harrier-9766-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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