hen harrier

American  

noun

British.

1. northern harrier.

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hen harrier British  

noun

1. US and Canadian names: marsh hawk.   marsh harrier.  a common harrier, Circus cyaneus, that flies over fields and marshes and nests in marshes and open land

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Etymology

Origin of hen harrier

First recorded in 1555–65

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hen harrier

The third case involved covert surveillance at a hen harrier roost in the Yorkshire Dales where investigators captured evidence of a planned attempt to kill one of the UK's rarest birds of prey.

From BBC ● May 25, 2026

"There's a jay ... That's a bluethroat ... Do you see the hen harrier? We're lucky," the 37-year-old photographer told AFP.

From Barron's ● May 20, 2026

We went for this striking female hen harrier in flight.

From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2013

That really annoyed me," Deller says with another smile, "so I thought I would do something with a giant hen harrier taking revenge on man, not Prince Harry necessarily, but man in general.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 1, 2013

He had disagreed with the disposal of the dead hen harrier; other little incidents, most of which had testified to his deep-rooted selfishness, I had not failed to notice.

From The Pilots of Pomona by Leighton, Robert