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6

Western Marsh Harrier

(Circus aeruginosus)
Alternate name(s): "Eurasian Marsh Harrier", "Marsh Harrier"
German name(s): "Rohrweihe"

Size: 43-54 cm; wing span 1.15-1.3 m
Weight: 400-650 g (male), 500-800 g (female)

Similar
species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Western Marsh Harrier at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

Race "aeruginosus"

ADULT

MALE

Near-lateral view of a male Western Marsh Harrier (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, November 2019]

Frontal view of a male Western Marsh Harrier in gliding flight (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, August 2016]

Near-frontal view of a (dark morphology) male Western Marsh Harrier in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, May 2020]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a (dark morphology) male Western Marsh Harrier in flight, possibly still moulting into adult plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, May 2020]

Lateral view of a male Western Marsh Harrier in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, March 2020]

Lateral/ventral view of a (dark morphology) male Western Marsh Harrier in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, May 2020]

Lateral/ventral view of a male Western Marsh Harrier in flight (photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Near Saint Omer, between Lille and Boulogne-sur-Mer, Hauts-de-France, France, June 2020]

Lateral/ventral view of a male Western Marsh Harrier, with a clear view of its underwing pattern
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, February 2023]

Lateral/ventral view of a male Western Marsh Harrier, with a clear view of its underwing pattern
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, February 2023]

Male Western Marsh Harrier banking to dive down on its prey (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, August 2016]

FEMALE

Near-frontal view of a female Western Marsh Harrier (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, March 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a female Western Marsh Harrier (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila France de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, November 2020]

Distant frontal view of a female Western Marsh Harrier in flight; note the long, dangling legs (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Odemira, Beja, Portugal, October 2018]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a female(?) Western Marsh Harrier in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2019]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a female(?) Western Marsh Harrier in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2019]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a female Western Marsh Harrier in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Alcacer do sal, Setubal, Portugal, December 2018]

Lateral view of a female Western Marsh Harrier in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, near Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2019]

Lateral view of a female Western Marsh Harrier in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Embalse de Los Canchales, near Merida, Montijo, Spain, December 2019]

Near-dorsal/ventral view of a female(?) Western Marsh Harrier in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2019]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-frontal view of a second-summer immature male(?) Western Marsh Harrier in low flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, January 2018]

Near-frontal view of a second-year immature male Western Marsh Harrier in low flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo Estuary, Portugal, January 2020]

Near-frontal/ventral view of a second-summer immature male(?) Western Marsh Harrier in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary Nature Reserve, Portugal, July 2019]

Lateral/ventral view of a second-summer immature male(?) Western Marsh Harrier in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, near Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2019]

Lateral view of a juvenile Western Marsh Harrier in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Raia river, Mora, Evora, Portugal, October 2020]

Lateral view of a juvenile Western Marsh Harrier in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Raia river, Mora, Evora, Portugal, October 2020]

Lateral/ventral view of a juvenile Western Marsh Harrier in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, January 2020]

Lateral/ventral view of a juvenile Western Marsh Harrier in low flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, March 2020]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

marshar_jp_20220211.m4a aeruginosus
(Portugal)
Alarm calls? (larger raptor) © JP

More Western Marsh Harrier sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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