Morphological characteristics of white-headed harrier

The white-headed harrier male is yellow-white or brownish-white from the top of his head to the back of his neck, with fine black-brown feathers. The back, shoulders and waist are chestnut brown or rusty; The tail feathers are sometimes nearly white, slightly mottled with brown stripes, and the tail feathers are silver-gray-brown with shallow end edges; The base of lateral tail feather and the edge of medial lemma are white; The small feathers on the wings and the feathers in the middle inside are yellow with dark brown longitudinal stripes, the primary feathers and the outer big feathers are silver gray, the rest of the wings are dark brown with brown feathers, the outer primary flying feathers are dark brown, the outer lemma is silver gray, and the base of the lemma is yellow and white; The internal primary flight feathers are grayish brown, the secondary flight feathers are gray, and the base of the medial cavity is nearly white. The eyes have black bristles first, and the eyes are dark brown with a little bristles. The ears are covered with ivory feathers with dark brown longitudinal stripes, and the neck has a circle of dark brown feathers with milky white feather edges, forming an inconspicuous wrinkle. The chin, throat and upper chest of the lower body are light yellow or yellow with dark brown longitudinal stripes, and the rest of the lower body is brown or rusty. The feather under the wing is nearly white, and the axillary feather is light chestnut brown with brown longitudinal stripes or brown spots.

The female bird is dark brown, with yellow-white or yellow-white skin from the head to the pillow and throat, and thin black longitudinal stripes on the top of her head; The flight feathers and tail feathers are dark brown, the ridicule inside the flight feathers is shallow, and there are white spots at the base; The lateral tail feathers turn reddish brown. Young birds are similar to female birds, but brown, and the vertical stripes on the top of their heads are thin and not obvious.

Young birds can't fly or walk after hatching. They only have fluff on their heads, trunks and thighs, so they can see pink skin. The newly hatched white-headed harrier has a black upper beak and a fleshy or pink lower beak. The edge of the beak is red. As young birds grow up, their beaks and legs turn yellow, the skin around their eyes turns dark gray, and their beaks are completely black. In the process of discoloration, the beak root is light blue-gray at first, and then slowly turns black.

Size measurement: weight ♂530-660g, ♀ 620-740g; Body length ♂490-543mm, ♀ 521-600 mm; Mouth peak ♂2 1-22mm, ♀ 21-24mm; Wing ♂375-382mm, ♀ 367-416mm; Tail ♂2 12-2 15mm, ♀ 222-245 mm; Tarsometatarsal ♂75-86mm, ♀ 78-86 mm (Note: ♂ male; ♀ Female)