Poetry in motion

Our view of them may be clouded by controversy, but the sight of a silver-grey hen harrier scaling the heavens is pure theatre

- Mark Cocker

A PATTERN in our relations with birds of prey is that we borrow their names as a way of celebrating human technologies. The Harrier jump jet is a good illustration. It was meant to honour the aeroplane’s marvellous manoeuvrability: what it draws on is the ease with which a hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) can hold steadily on the air, flap slowly to a point of stillness, then turn away in a sideways sweep or double back and twist down to the ground like a blade pressed home. The bird in hunting mode is an embodiment of immense control and exquisite aerial fluency. With all deference to the original manufacturers of the jump jet, their Harrier is a shadow of the living bird.