|
|
|
Montagu's Harrier
(Circus pygargus)
 German name(s): "Wiesenweihe"
Size: 39-50 cm (incl. tail); wing span 0.95-1.15 m
Weight: 265 g (male), 345 g (female); averages
|
|
 |
Similar
species |
|
|
 |
Physical description |
|
 Click here for a physical description
Montagu's Harriers are small harriers.
Their plumage is
dimorphic, i.e.
males and
females
are different.
Male
Montagu's Harriers have a grey body, with black wing tips and
off-white wing panels that are dissected by a narrow black band,
on both the upperside and the underside. In the folded wing that
band can be seen as a black spot. The belly, vent, undertail
coverts and "trousers" are a lighter shade of grey than head,
chin, chest and back. The long, thin tail is grey, with lighter
grey barring on the underside.
Females,
being the sole incubators and the species being ground-nesting,
have much more cryptic
plumage.
Apart from some white around the eyes and some streaking
around the neck, the head and upperparts of
females
are dark brownish-grey. The wing coverts have rufous edges,
while the flight feathers have black tips, giving the folded
wings a scalloped appearance.
The front is grey with heavy rufous streaking, in particular
on chin and chest.
The underwings are grey, with darker grey barring on the
flight feathers and rufous barring on the coverts.
Both sexes have yellow irises and a slender downcurved grey bill
with yellow cere. The legs and feet are also yellow.
Juveniles have a rufous front and underwing coverts, while
the rest of the underwings is dark-grey, with mid-grey panels
that show dark-grey barring. The upperparts of juveniles are
very similar to those of
females.
Compared to
Pallid Harriers, both sexes of Montagu's Harrier
have darker underwings.
|
 |
Taxonomy, classification |
|
See Montagu's
Harrier at Wikipedia  .
|
|
 |
Range, habitat, finding this species |
|
Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
.
The global distribution of Montagu's Harrier is available
HERE
.
Montagu's Harrier is a strongly migratory species.
Their breeding range extends from coastal northern and
north-western Africa, via large parts of Europe, into
Asia Minor and western and central Asia. In Asia the
breeding range encompasses an area roughly between the
Caspian Sea and far-western China in the South and ca.
60 degrees geographic latitude in the North.
There are two areas where Montagu's Harriers overwinter:
The Indian subcontinent, including Sri Lanka, parts of Pakistan
and of Bangladesh in the East and sub-Saharan and highland
eastern Africa in the West.
During their migration they can be found also in areas between
breeding grounds and winter quarters, such as e.g. the Middle
East, Arabia, Asia Minor and the West coast of Africa.
In Europe Montagu's Harrier is a breeding migrant.
The species is found mostly in Iberia, the southern half
of France, the northern half of Italy and much of eastern
Europe, but also along the Danube (e.g. the Hungarian
Puszta) and other selected sites in central Europe.
They also breed on Mediterranean islands such as the
Balearic islands and Sardinia.
Except for a few coastal locations in the South of
England, along the Benelux, German and Dutch coastlines
and the southern Baltic Sea they are not found in western
Europe or Scandinavia.
During the breeding season Montagu's Harrier has a preference
for open plains, bogs, wasteland or heathland with sparse
shrubby vegetation in between which they nest on the ground.
|
 |
Sightings |
|
Click here for sighting information
J. Pires reports spotting a
Montagu's Harrier at Vilarelhos, Alfandega da Fe,
Tras-os-Montes, Norte, Portugal, in May 2018. Another
was found in Albufeira da Barragem do Divor, Igrejinha, Arraiolos, Portugal,
in July 2019.
All sighting and photographic information presented on this
page has kindly been contributed by J. Pires.
|
 |
Photos |
|
 |
ADULT |
|
 |
MALE |
|
Lateral view of a male Montagu's Harrier in flight, wings down;
note the grey body, black wing tips and the black bar on the underwing
characterising this bird as a male
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vilarelhos, Alfandega da Fe, Tras-os-Montes, Norte, Portugal,
May 2018]
Lateral view of a male Montagu's Harrier in flight, wings up
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vilarelhos, Alfandega da Fe, Tras-os-Montes, Norte, Portugal,
May 2018]
 |
FEMALE |
|
Female or juvenile Montagu's Harrier, on the right, being
disturbed by another bird of prey
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Albufeira da Barragem do Divor, Igrejinha, Arraiolos, Portugal, July 2019]
Female or juvenile Montagu's Harrier in low flight
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Albufeira da Barragem do Divor, Igrejinha, Arraiolos, Portugal, July 2019]
Female or juvenile Montagu's Harrier settling down again
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Albufeira da Barragem do Divor, Igrejinha, Arraiolos, Portugal, July 2019]
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.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Food
Call/s
