Readers’ wildlife photographs

Georgeous

Why Evolution Is True

Reader Bruce Lyons sends some photos of nesting Norther Harriers and a really nice story of their breeding biology and appearance:

In April I found a Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus) nest along the coast north of Santa Cruz in California. Harriers nest on the ground in marshy or brushy areas. Female harriers do all of the incubation but the male brings her food (mostly mice) while she incubates. The food is delivered in an aerial transfer: the female chases the male until he drops the prey item, which the female then snatches before it hits the ground. I knew the harriers had to have a nest in a patch of scrub because I saw several aerial transfers in the spot. In each of these, the male arrived with a mouse, gave his distinctive “I have a mouse” call, which brought the female up off the ground to get…

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