swamp harrier

English

Noun

swamp harrier (plural swamp harriers)

1. (Australia, obsolete) The spotted harrier, Circus assimilis. [19th c.]
2. (Australia, New Zealand) A large hawk, Circus approximans, of Australia, New Zealand, and several Pacific islands. [from 19th c.]
   • 2018, Robbie Arnott, Flames, Text Publishing, published 2023, page 95:

     Other than the usual clamour of seabirds, ravens and swamp harriers, the only other birds of note in this area are orange-bellied parrots […] and a few black-faced cormorants that venture up from the tannin-stained waters of Bathurst Harbour.

Synonyms

• swamp hawk