Pallid harrier
Pallid harrier | |
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File:Pallid Harrier Female (1).jpg | |
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C. macrourus
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Binomial name | |
Circus macrourus S. G. Gmelin, 1770
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File:Circus macrourus dis.PNG | |
Range of C. macrourus Summer range Resident range Winter range |
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The pale or pallid harrier (Circus macrourus) is a migratory bird of prey of the harrier family. It breeds in southern parts of eastern Europe and central Asia (such as Iran) and winters mainly in India and southeast Asia. It is a very rare vagrant to Great Britain and western Europe, although remarkably a juvenile wintered in Norfolk in the winter of 2002/2003.
This medium-sized raptor breeds on open plains, bogs and heathland. In winter it is a bird of open country.
Description
This is a typical harrier, with long wings held in a shallow V in its low flight. It also resembles other harriers in having distinct male and female plumages. Adults measure 40–48 cm (16–19 in) long with a wingspan of 95–120 cm (37–47 in). Males weigh 315 g (11.1 oz) while the slightly larger females weigh 445 g (15.7 oz). The male is whitish grey above and white below, with narrow black wingtips. It differs from the hen harrier in its smaller size, narrower wings, paler colour, and different wing tip pattern. The female is brown above with white upper tail coverts, hence females and the similar juveniles are often called "ringtails". Her underparts are buff streaked with brown. It is best distinguished from the female hen harrier on structure. It is very similar to the female Montagu's harrier, but has darker and more uniform secondaries from below.
Diet
Pallid harriers hunt small mammals, lizards and birds, surprising them as they drift low over fields and moors.
The nest of this species is on the ground. Four to six whitish eggs are laid.
References
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Further reading
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External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Circus macrourus. |
Wikispecies has information related to: Circus macrourus |
- Pallid harrier species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
- Iran's Birds - Pallid Harrier (in Persian)
- BirdLife species factsheet for Circus macrourus
- Circus macrourus on Avibase
- Pallid harrier videos, photos, and sounds at the Internet Bird Collection
- Pallid harrier photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
- Audio recordings of Pallid harrier on Xeno-canto.
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- Pages with reference errors
- Pages with broken file links
- IUCN Red List near threatened species
- Commons category link is locally defined
- Harriers (birds)
- Animals described in 1770
- Birds of Nepal
- Birds of Bhutan
- Birds of the Middle East
- Birds of North Africa
- Birds of Cameroon
- Birds of Europe
- African birds of prey