The pied harrier (''Circus melanoleucos'') is an Asian species of

bird of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predat ...

in the family

Accipitridae The Accipitridae is one of the three families within the order Accipitriformes, and is a family of small to large birds with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-s ...

. It is migratory, breeding from the

Amur The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China ( Inner Manchuria). The Amur proper is long, ...

valley in eastern

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

and north-eastern China to

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

. Wintering individuals can be found in a wide area from

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The population consists of approximately 10,000 individuals and the number is thought to be in moderate decline. This medium-sized harrier (length 45 cm/18in, wing span 115 cm/46in)James Ferguson-Lees & David Christie (2005). Raptors of the world. Christopher Helm. London, UK nests in steppes and associated wetlands. Wintering individuals are often seen hunting above rice paddies and marshes.

Gallery

Image:Pied Harrier I2 IMG 9660.jpg, near

Hodal Hodal is a city and a municipal council in Palwal district in the Haryana state of India. It is located at and has an average elevation of . Hodal is a Haryana Legislative Assembly constituency segment, within the Faridabad Lok Sabha const ...

Faridabad Faridabad is the most populous city in the Indian state of Haryana and a part of Delhi National Capital Region. It is one of the major satellite cities around Delhi and is located 284 kilometres south of the state capital Chandigarh. The ri ...

District of

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Image:Pied Harrier I IMG 9661.jpg, at/ near

District of

. File:Pied harrier IMG 6459.jpg, Male from Kole Wetlands, Thrissur, Kerala

References

pied harrier Birds of prey of Asia Birds of Manchuria Birds of Mongolia pied harrier Taxa named by Thomas Pennant {{Accipitriformes-stub