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  Profile

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  In flight

Birds of Prey

Pallid Harrier

Circus macrourus

• uncommon
• 40 km/h
• Near Threatened

A ghostly steppe wanderer that's slowly moving west as the climate shifts. Delivering messages further every year.

Population

~18,000–30,000 mature individuals globally (declining)

Habitat

Open grassy steppe and wet grasslands/marsh edges for breeding; open plains, semi-desert, and agricultural fields in winter

Fun fact

Long absent as a European breeder, the Pallid Harrier has been expanding westward in recent decades, with the Netherlands recording its first confirmed breeding pair in 2017 and Spain following with its first breeding record in 2019.

Range

Breeds from Ukraine and southwestern Russia across Central Asia to northwestern China; winters mainly in sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian subcontinent, with vagrants reaching western Europe

Diet

Small mammals (voles, mice) and small birds, supplemented by large insects (locusts, grasshoppers, beetles), lizards, and frogs

Size

0.44 m

Wingspan

1.1 m

Lifespan

13.5 years