Curious male\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nAt times these birds seem to be almost as curious about me as I am about them.\u00a0 Here the hunting male decided to momentarily check out me and my long lens.\u00a0 I like the resulting head turn.<\/p>\n
Harriers may very well be my favorite species to photograph.\u00a0 I really have no preference of one sex over the other in my photography but must admit to some extra satisfaction when I get a nice flight shot of a male because they are so elusive.\u00a0 Truly a “Grey Ghost” as a fully mature adult.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
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The degree of sexual dimorphism (the condition in which males and females of a species are morphologically different) in Northern harriers is exceptional among birds of prey.\u00a0 Many raptors are sexually dimorphic in size (see my “Great Horned Owls on the Farm” post) but Northern Harrier males and females are distinctly different in both size and color.\u00a0 \u00a0 Adult female Northern Harrier This bird is a juvenile female,\u00a0identified by the mostly solid rufous chest and dark eye.\u00a0 The adult female would look much the same\u00a0but with a streaked breast and a lighter colored eye.\u00a0\u00a0 By weight, females are about 50% heavier than males.\u00a0 Both sexes have the distinctive white rump\u00a0patch that is so difficult to photograph without blowing the whites.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Adult male Northern Harrier Adult males are gray above, much lighter below and have black wing tips.\u00a0\u00a0 And their bright yellow eyes are\u00a0quite distinctive.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Adult male hunting Juvenile birds of both sexes resemble the female in plumage color so relatively few adult males are seen and photographed.\u00a0 For this reason mature males have long been referred to as “Grey Ghosts”.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Perched adult male Whether perched or in flight many believe the adult male harrier to be one of the most beautiful raptors.\u00a0 \u00a0 Adult male flying past\u00a0Phragmites\u00a0 Eye color in the males can vary\u00a0from orange-yellow to lemon yellow.\u00a0 At times they’re so bright that some folks after seeing my images\u00a0have thought that I had increased their saturation for effect during image processing.\u00a0 I hadn’t and I don’t. \u00a0 \u00a0…<\/p>\n
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![\"Northern](\"http:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/northern-harrier-0834.jpg\" "\\"Northern")
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