The Hen Harrier is a medium-sized bird of prey that can be found in the north of England, although visiting Hen Harriers can also be seen in the south in winter. It can often be found on heather moors in summer and in winter it can be seen on farmlands, river valleys, coastal marshes and reed beds.

The male Harrier Hen is silver grey on top and it has a white rump and black wing tips. Its underside is white and its long tail is silver grey. The female Harrier Hen is dark brown with lighter brown markings with a cream coloured breast that has lots of dark brown streaky markings. The female’s wings are also dark brown from the base to the middle and grey-brown from the middle to the tips of the wings. The lower grey-brown part of the wings has brown lines running across them. The female also has a white rump and a brown and grey-brown striped tail. The Harrier Hen has a wingspan of approximately one hundred and twenty centimetres.

Harrier Hens are often seen singly in the day when they hunt for food such as voles, mice, rabbits, hares and small birds like Meadow Pipits. They hunt low over the ground and are very agile hunters. They often take wounded game birds from the ground.