And the grasslands and savannahs are not only important for the harriers. They are also home to various wild grasses, wolves, foxes, and unique birds, and provide pasture to goats, sheep, and cattle. An afternoon nap for the harriers in the shade suggests that we take one too, since the grasslands are located in extremely hot and dry areas of the country: around the deserts of Rajasthan, in the grasslands of Gujarat, and on the Deccan plateau all the way into Southern Tamil Nadu.
After lunch and a cup of tea we head off to the grassland once again to a small patch called a harrier roost. A roost is an interesting place — a patch of tall grass, which the harriers hustle into each evening to make their bed. They trample the soft grass into a cup and form a cozy bed just like you and I wrap ourselves in blankets. This is a safe haven for them each night, to guard themselves against large owls, foxes, and jungle cats that might prey on them.
Here, they spit out small pellets. These pellets contain undigested feathers, hair, bones, and insect body parts from their food, which are a precious resource for us. We collect them to observe under the microscope later, to find out what they have eaten.
Pellets can tell us more about how these harriers survive in harsh weather, and how they change their diet as the grass starts to dry out and the grasshoppers become fewer in number! From the gliding and feeding frenzy through the morning and afternoon, it has been a long day for the harriers. It is time to rest, and just like a crowd gathering in a cafe of an evening, the harriers can be seen flocking at their favourite mound or in a bare patch close to their roost.
They perch silently, sometimes inviting others flying by with a shriek, sometimes fighting for a place, and preen their ruffled feathers before sleep. Cinereous Harrier diet : Small birds, rodents, frogs and insects.
Sometimes will eat carrion. The Eastern Marsh-harrier has a fairly wide range. When breeding they live from southeast Siberia and Mongolia, east to eastern Russia then south to northeast China and northern Japan.
During the winter they move farther south to southeast Asia, south China, Korea, south Japan and Indonesia. Habitat : The Eastern Marsh-harrier habitat include inland wetlands like marshes, swamps, and lakes.
They also are found in salt marshes with lots of tall grasses. Wingspan : 3. Eastern Marsh-harrier diet : Prefers small to medium sized birds, but will also eat small mammals and frogs. The Hen Harrier has a fairly wide range. Habitat : The Hen Harrier habitat is in open country with some grass or shrub cover, especially grassland, steppe, meadows, moorland, scrub. However, in Europe they are listed as near threatened. Main threats in Europe are loss of breeding habitat and being illegally shot.
The Long-winged Harrier lives in South America. In northern South America they are resident to southwest Columbia then northeast into north Venezuela and east to Trinidad.
Going southeast you can find them in northern Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. Farther south they range from northeastern Brazil, south to eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, northern and central Argentina, Uruguay and Chile. Habitat : The Long-winged Harrier habitat is marshes, open fields including cultivated areas such as wheat and rice fields.
Breeds in southern and central Europe south to northwestern Africa. From there they range east through the Caspian lowlands to Kazakhstan and the upper River Yenisey.
They spend their winters in Africa south of the Sahara and on the Indian subcontinent south to Sri Lanka. Their migrations take them through parts of northwest Africa, western Asia and parts of Europe. Female 8. The Northern Harrier has a very wide range. They breed in Alaska, most of Canada and part of the northeast United States. This harrier bird also winters in, or is resident to, most of the United States. Also, during the winter, they are found throughout Mexico and south through Central America and extreme northwest South America.
Next Montagu's Harrier. Jaume Orta, Peter F. Boesman, and Jeffrey S. Marks Version: 1. Sign in to see your badges. Indische Zool. More details: Guide to key entries Standard abbreviations and symbols. This is a savage predator, but one that is also very protective of its family and will often nest for life.
This bird is not very aggressive to humans and thankfully there are plenty still thriving in the wild. This bird has a very unique mating pattern, usually only laying anywhere between 2 — 6 eggs in one clutch, which is quite small for any number of birds. You can expect this bird to have everything that it needs to survive an aggressive winter. So what is the profile of this bird? How do they fare in the winter seasons? What are the mating patterns? How do they call their mates and their chicks?
What are the nesting habits of these birds? How long do they live on average? How aggressive can they be to humans? Well, if you want to know the answers to these questions and a whole lot more, then we would suggest that you keep reading.
We have everything that you need to know about this bird, from calls and diet to random fun facts and reproductive behavior. Keep reading to find out more about the pied harrier! This bird is grey in appearance with a much longer body than some of the other harriers that you might find out in nature.
It has a downy brown-grey set of feathers on the back with a much darker brown along the tail. The adult pied harrier has a white breast which helps you to identify it in the wild.
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