Editing Hen harrier (section)

==Taxonomy==
In 1758 the English naturalist [[George Edwards (naturalist)|George Edwards]] included an illustration and a description of the hen harrier in the first volume of his ''Gleanings of Natural History''. He used the English name "The blue hawk". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a bird that had been shot near London.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Edwards |first=George |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/56895915 |title=Gleanings of Natural History, exhibiting figures of quadrupeds, birds, insects, plants &c... |publisher=Printed for the author, at the College of Physicians |year=1758 |volume=1 |location=London |pages=33–34 Plate 225 |language=English, French |author-link=George Edwards (naturalist)}}</ref> When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] updated his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' for the [[12th edition of Systema Naturae|twelfth edition]], he placed the hen harrier with the falcons and eagles in the [[genus]] ''[[Falco (bird)|Falco]]''.  Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the [[binomial name]] ''Falco cyaneus'' and cited Edwards' work.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Linnaeus |first=Carl |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/445251 |title=Systema naturae : per regna tria natura, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis |publisher=Laurentii Salvii |year=1766 |edition=12th |volume=1, Part 1 |location=Holmiae (Stockholm) |page=126 |language=Latin |author-link=Carl Linnaeus}}</ref> The hen harrier is now placed in the genus ''[[Harrier (bird)|Circus]]'' that was introduced by the French naturalist [[Bernard Germain de Lacépède]] in 1799.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lacépède |first=Bernard Germain de |title=Discours d'ouverture et de clôture du cours d'histoire naturelle |publisher=Plassan |year=1799 |location=Paris |page=4 |language=fr |chapter=Tableau des sous-classes, divisions, sous-division, ordres et genres des oiseux |author-link=Bernard Germain de Lacépède |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6uhAAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA78}} Page numbering starts at one for each of the three sections.<!--BHL appears not to have a scan--></ref><ref name="ioc">{{Cite web |date=January 2022 |editor-last=Gill |editor-first=Frank |editor-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) |editor2-last=Donsker |editor2-first=David |editor3-last=Rasmussen |editor3-first=Pamela |editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen |title=Hoatzin, New World vultures, Secretarybird, raptors |url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/raptors/ |access-date=9 June 2022 |website=IOC World Bird List Version 12.1 |publisher=International Ornithologists' Union}}</ref> The genus name ''Circus'' is derived from the [[Ancient Greek]] ''kirkos'', referring to a bird of prey named for its circling flight (''kirkos'', "circle"). The specific epithet ''cyaneus'' is from [[Latin]] and means "dark blue".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jobling |first=James A. |title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names |publisher=Christopher Helm |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 |location=London |page=[https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n109/mode/1up 109], [https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n126/mode/1up 126]}}</ref> The species is [[monotypic]]: no [[subspecies]] are recognised.<ref name=ioc/>

The hen harrier was formerly considered to be [[conspecific]] with the [[northern harrier]].<ref name=ioc/><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Etherington |first1=Graham J. |last2=Mobley |first2=Jason A. |date=2016 |title=Molecular phylogeny, morphology and life-history comparisons within Circus cyaneus reveal the presence of two distinct evolutionary lineages |journal=Avian Research |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=17 |doi=10.1186/s40657-016-0052-3 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chesser |first1=R. Terry |last2=Burns |first2=Kevin J. |last3=Cicero |first3=Carla |last4=Dunn |first4=John L. |last5=Kratter |first5=Andrew W |last6=Lovette |first6=Irby J |last7=Rasmussen |first7=Pamela C. |last8=Remsen |first8=J.V. Jr |last9=Rising |first9=James D. |last10=Stotz |first10=Douglas F. |last11=Winker |first11=Kevin |year=2017 |title=Fifty-eighth supplement to the American Ornithological Society's ''Check-list of North American Birds'' |journal=The Auk |volume=134 |issue=3 |pages=751–773 |doi=10.1642/AUK-17-72.1 |doi-access=free}}</ref>