Montagu's Harrier

Circus pygargus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Montagu's Harrier, Circus pygargus, breeds across western Europe and north-west Africa to central Asia, and moves to Africa and India outside the breeding season. It is a harrier in the Accipitridae family and was first described by Linnaeus in 1758. The bird is linked to George Montagu in its English name. It needs broad open country for nesting, often in lowland settings, and can also use farmland, grassland and cereal crops. It is a slender raptor with a buoyant, elegant flight, and the male is notably darker and more mottled than the males of hen or pallid harriers.

Order

Accipitriformes

Family

Accipitridae — Kites, Hawks, Eagles

Breeding range

Palearctic: w Europe and nw Africa to c Asia

Nonbreeding range

AF, India