adult female Marsh Harriers

although often depicted as a set cream crown in many guides adult female Marsh Harriers seem from my experience to come in two types; the chocolate brown bird with the cream crown and forewings and the rusty coloured bird with a poorly marked head pattern, rusty tail and general male type plumage; the latter often have very pale eyes but watching the same birds in successive seasons their plumage does not seem to change between one type and the other with age