NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Western Marsh Harrier
Circus aeruginosus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The western marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus) is a large harrier, a bird of prey from temperate and subtropical western Eurasia and adjacent Africa. It is also known as the Eurasian marsh harrier. Formerly, a number of relatives were included in C. aeruginosus, which was then known as "marsh harrier". The related taxa are now generally considered to be separate species: the eastern marsh harrier (C. spilonotus), the Papuan harrier (C. spilothorax) of eastern Asia and the Wallacea, the swamp harrier (C. approximans) of Australasia and the Madagascar marsh harrier (C. maillardi) of the western Indian Ocean islands.
The western marsh harrier is often divided into two subspecies, the widely migratory C. a. aeruginosus which is found across most of its range, and C. a. harterti which is resident all-year in north-west Africa.
Wikipedia contributors, Western marsh harrier; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:31:31.285590+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Circus aeruginosus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Common name
- Western Marsh Harrier
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Accipitriformes
- Family
- Accipitridae
- Genus
- Circus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderAccipitriformes
- familyAccipitridae Vigors, 1824
- genusCircus Lacépède, 1799
- speciesCircus aeruginosus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Circus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Northern HarrierCircus hudsonius (Linnaeus, 1766) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Swamp HarrierCircus approximans Peale, 1849 | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Long-winged HarrierCircus buffoni (J. F. Gmelin, 1788) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cinereous HarrierCircus cinereus Vieillot, 1816 | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pallid HarrierCircus macrourus (S. G. Gmelin, 1770) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Malagasy Marsh HarrierCircus maillardi J. Verreaux, 1862 | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pied HarrierCircus melanoleucos (Pennant, 1769) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Montagu's HarrierCircus pygargus (Linnaeus, 1758) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| African Marsh HarrierCircus ranivorus (Daudin, 1800) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Papuan HarrierCircus spilothorax Salvadori & D'Albertis, 1875 | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Falco aeruginosus Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Europe & Northern Asia (excluding China)
North America
Southern Asia
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=559297 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:5Z6WQ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.