| Wood Harrier | |
|---|---|
 restoration of it plucking an 'I'iwi | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Accipitriformes |
| Family: | Accipitridae |
| Genus: | Circus |
| Species: | Circus dossenus |
The Wood Harrier or Mime Harrier (Circus dossenus) is an extinct bird of prey that was endemic to Hawaii. It first appeared during the Pleistocene epoch and went extinct during the Holocene epoch after Polynesians arrived on Hawaii.
Discovery[]
In 1983, Joan Aidem discovered a partially complete left humerus of a bird believed to belong to the Accipiter family at Moomomi dunes, Molokai. After examining this holotype and many other subfossil records, Helen F. Jame and her husband Storrs L. Olson moved the Wood Harrier to the genus Circus. They also noted the presence of Northern Harriers in Hawaii while no members of the Accipiter family have ever inhabited the islands of Hawaii, opening up a high likelihood for a Harrier species to establish a population in Hawaii.
Etymology[]
Because the Wood Harrier almost fooled James and Olson into placing it in the Accipiter genus, it was given the species name dossenus, meaning jester. Also, a circus is not complete without a jester, thus a fitting scientific name for a species in the genus Circus.
Description[]
Compared to other present-day species in the genus, the Wood Harrier was a relatively small harrier, even outsized by the small Pied Harrier and Montagu's Harrier. It had rather short wings but long legs.
Behavior[]
It most likely hunted on insects as well as small birds such as honeycreepers, since there were no mammals before the arrival of Polynesians in Hawaii. It was most likely a ground breeder.
Distribution and Habitat[]
As things stand today, it can be assumed that the Wood Harrier was endemic to Hawaii. Its distribution was presumably restricted to the dense, subtropical forests of the following Hawaiian islands of Oahu and Mokolai as there were no other records of fossils of this species in other Hawaiian islands. The distribution probably also included other islands that were connected with Molokaʻi to Maui Nui before the last Ice Age. Due to its habitat, which is unusual for harriers, and because its diet consisted of small prey, it developed shorter wings and a smaller body, which makes this species a typical example of insular dwarfism.
Extinction[]
The Polynesian rat and avian malaria contributed to the extinction of many endemic bird species in Hawaii, and this also includes the Wood Harrier. This type of extinction is likely to have doubly affected the Wood Harrier as a ground breeder and carnivore. The same fate befell to other birds, such as the owls of the genus Grallistrix, aka stilt-owls.
Works Cited[]
James, Helen F., and Storrs L. Olson. Ornithological Monographs No. 45 - University of New Mexico.
- https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/om/om045.pdf.
“Wood Harrier.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Sept. 2022,
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_harrier.