Pallid_harrier
Pallid harrier
Species of bird
The Pallid Harrier (Circus macrourus) is a migratory bird of prey of the harrier subfamily. The scientific name is derived from the Ancient Greek. Circus is from kirkos (circle), referring to a bird of prey named for its circling flight ('probably the hen harrier), and macrourus is "long-tailed", from makros (long) and -ouros (-tailed).[2]
It breeds in southern parts of eastern Europe and central Asia and Iran and winters mainly in India and southeast Asia. It is a rare but increasing vagrant to Great Britain and western Europe. In 2017 a pair of pallid harriers nested in a barley field in the Netherlands; they raised four chicks, the first recording breeding of the species in the country.[3] In 2019, a pair bred in Spain for the first time.[4]
This medium-sized raptor breeds on open plains, bogs and heathland. In winter it is a bird of open country.