Mitochondrial DNA Demonstrates That a Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus) Reached Attu Island, Alaska

A partial wing of a juvenile male harrier salvaged at Attu Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, in June 1999 has long been discussed as an example of the Old World taxon Circus (cyaneus) cyaneus on the basis of morphological features and a geographic deduction. This identification took on additional weight after many taxonomic authorities decided to treat the Old and New World forms as separate species—C. cyaneus and C. hudsonius, respectively. Mitochondrial DNA (1887 base pairs) clearly group the specimen with C. cyaneus, and thus the specimen represents the first record for North America of the Hen Harrier.