See text A harrier is a member of the genus Circus in Accipitridae, a family of birds of prey.

Harriers characteristically hunt by flying low over open ground, feeding on small mammals, reptiles, or birds.

The harriers are thought to have diversified with the expansion of grasslands and the emergence of C4 grasses about 6 to 8 million years ago during the Late Miocene and Pliocene.

The word Circus comes from the Ancient Greek κρέξ (kréx) referring to a long legged bird, and is possibly ultimately derived from an onomatopoeia.

[6] The genera Circus has in the past been placed in the subfamily Circinae but molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that such a grouping is polyphyletic for Accipitrinae.