Description
Life span: 10 years
The Montagu’s harrier is a medium-sized, slender raptor with long wings. It is smaller than a buzzard and has wings that are more pointed than those of the related hen harrier. Men are grey. When flying, it has a black band across the inner wing and black wingtips. The female is a rich shade of brown. Since the young bird is predominantly brown rather than grey like males, it resembles the adult female. However, it has unstreaked reddish brown underwings and underparts. Young birds’ eyes lack the golden iris of adults and are instead either dark grey or brown, although having the same legs, feet, and bill as adults.
Native Region/Habitat
Montagu’s harriers spend their mating seasons throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe. Few of them are observed close to migratory choke points as they migrate across a wide front in Europe, crossing the Mediterranean at various locations. While western species can only travel as far south as the Gulf of Guinea, certain eastern bird species can travel as far south as South Africa. The Montagu’s harrier dwells in flat or very slightly undulating open areas like pastures, heathland, moors, grass plains, marshes, steppes, and scrubland. The harrier may benefit from such open areas in a number of ways, including better forewarning of approaching predator attacks and, conversely, the ability for the low-flying animal to easily view its own prey.
Behavior
It can switch between being solitary and social throughout the mating season and the winter. Montagu’s harriers fly low over wide areas along predetermined flight routes in search of prey. They frequently search for food directly from the ground because they are carnivorous. Depending on where they live, they eat a variety of small animals, including rabbits, lizards, voles, and other reptiles, as well as insects and miniature birch trees.
As a pet/In captivity
Harriers rarely spend time indoors, thus it is unusual to have one as a pet. Additionally, it’s illegal to own a harrier as a pet in several places. This is because these birds are natural hunters and have a variety of strong defense’s available to them in the event of a threat. They might become less sociable pets as a result.
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