Western Marsh Harrier
Circus aeruginosus
Typical is its buoyant, low quartering flight over the reeds with wings held in a shallow V. In the breeding season the male often passes prey to the female in mid-air, who turns onto her back in flight to catch it.
- Group
- Birds of Prey
- Photos
- 11
- Taken
- 2024
Profile: Western Marsh Harrier
- Family
- Hawks, eagles and kites (Accipitridae)
- Size
- approx. 43–55 cm
- Wingspan
- approx. 115–130 cm
- Weight
- approx. 400–800 g
- Habitat
- Reedbeds on lakes, ponds and in silting-up zones; also hunts over adjacent meadows and fields.
- Diet
- Mainly songbirds and young waterbirds, and where available many small mammals such as voles; less often frogs, fish, large insects and carrion.
- When to see
- Migrant present from about March/April to September/October, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa.
Learn more: Wikipedia · NABU (German)