Harrier Name Generator

Draw a name for the harrier's first pass

Picture a harrier passing just above the grass before it turns back toward the reeds. Draw a few names and use them in the same line of an imagined observer's notebook. Prairie Prowler could fit the route across open grassland. Reed Wing could fit the moment the bird passes a gap at the water's edge. Try each under a sketch as well and decide which part of the scene the name makes you remember.

Use the angle or the flash of white

A northern harrier often glides with its wings in a shallow V. When it turns, the patch of white at the base of the tail can show against the ground. Try Dihedral Spirit under a drawing of the wing angle and Silver Skim under a view from behind. If the next drawing shows the bird from another side, see whether the name still brings the first view to mind.

Let the next person remember something different

Marsh Ranger might be the name used by someone who saw the bird fly past the reeds. Ghost Dawn could come from an account of a bird seen in early light. If both names belong to the same harrier, have the two observers mention a bend in the flight path or a gap in the reeds. The shared detail lets a reader connect two accounts told in different voices.

Say the name with the sketch out of sight

Read a line about the bird after it has flown away. If there are two harriers, try names with different opening sounds and ask someone to tell which bird the line refers to. Give each a route, such as a low pass along the grass or a turn at the water's edge.

Keep the final spelling beside the first sketch or note. Add what the person was looking at when they came up with it, so you can find the same detail again when the bird reappears.