ID CHALLENGE on Women Birders Australia 6 June 2020 by Penelope Lind.
Seen and photographed at Paradise Waters, Sunshine Coast, Qld by Penelope Lind in March.
Size: big but not huge. Behaviour: Flying low over open grassland
This handsome bird is an adult Spotted Harrier (Circus assimilis). They can be found throughout mainland Australia.
Spotted Harriers have a distinctive banded tail and adult birds have mainly grey upperparts and rufous-brown underparts and underwing coverts. The breast and underwing coverts are densely speckled with fine white spots (you can see these better in the second shot I’ve attached here).
Adults also have a rufous-brown facial disc which give them an owl look appearance when you see them front on.
The wingtips are usually spread out (see second photo). An important ID feature of Spotted Harriers are their heavily black wingtips which unlike in Swamp Harriers, they are black on both the upper and underside.
Finally, although you can’t see it in the photos, another ID feature of Spotted Harriers is that during flight the sides of the tail are usually upswept.
Women Birders Australia 