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Body length: 45-55 cm
Wingspan: 115-140 cm
Body mass: 550-850 g (females larger than males)
Appearance:
Male: 3-coloured upperparts, pale wings with black tips, reddish-brown trunk.
Female: dark brown.
Juvenile: dark brown with reddish-brown throat and head.
Bird of prey which is Poland’s commonest harrier. Like all harriers, glides with wings raised slightly and forming an open letter ”V”. Tail not usually spread in flight, so appears long and narrow. Nest made of dry stems, reeds and twigs in large reedbeds besides oxbows and other kinds of lake. Eats rodents, fish and young birds. Winters in Africa and India.
Descriptions drawing on content of Ptaki Polski (“Birds of Poland”) - a book authored by Andrzej G. Kruszewicz, and published by MULTICO Oficyna Wydawnicza Sp. z o.o.
