Circus assimilis
Silhouette: Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The spotted harrier (Circus assimilis) also known as the smoke hawk, is a large Australasian bird of prey belonging to the family Accipitridae. The spotted harrier belongs to the family Accipitridae. Accipitridae is the largest family in the order Accipitriformes and encompasses many of the diurnal birds of prey including hawks and eagles. It is one of the largest avian families with 233 species in 67 genera included in the family worldwide.
The spotted harrier is a medium-sized, slender bird of prey with adult females reaching 58–61 cm. Both adults and juvenile birds have an owl-like facial ruff that creates the appearance of a short, broad head as well as long yellow legs. The spotted harrier's wings feature prominent black tips and the tail is prominently barred and slightly wedge shaped.
Adult males are much smaller than the females only growing to 50–55 cm. Adult birds have blue to grey upper parts with a chestnut face and underparts that feature numerous white spots. Juvenile birds in their first year of life are mostly a dark brown and buff on their upperparts with pale buff underparts that feature brown streaks across the chest and stomach... Wikipedia →
Call0:38
Indonesia · 2014
© Frank Lambert · XC194155 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ningaloo Marine Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Cape Range | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Harrier sighting in Cape Range on a given day, based on 26 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 55th most-seen of the 84 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March, May–July and October–January
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Harrier in Cape Range on a given day, against under 5% in April and August–September, the lowest months. February has too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spotted Harrier sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Spotted Harrier sightings, Cape Range ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Ningaloo Marine Park (Australia, about 10%).
Same family: Accipitridae
The closest relatives of the Spotted Harrier that you can see in Cape Range (family Accipitridae, Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) are White-Bellied Sea-Eagle (about 30%), Brahminy Kite (about 30%) and Wedge-tailed Eagle (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spotted Harrier is recorded against all the birds logged in Cape Range (26 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
