The copulation activity of 12 pairs of African marsh harriers, Circus ranivorus, was quantified over 1670 h to evaluate the effects of food provisioning, body size, laying date and nest spacing on copulation frequency. Pairs copulated most often in the early morning and averaged between 0.9 and 4.3 copulations/pair/day for a total of 50-220 possible copulations before egg laying. About 27% of all attempts were unsuccessful. Presentation of prey by the male to his mate was not a prerequisite for copulations and copulation duration was not associated with prey size. However, more unsuccessful copulations occurred when food was not provisioned than when it was. Extra-pair copulations formed only 2% of all observed matings (similar to other raptors), and occurred outside the territory.