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Harrier long-tailed, long-winged birds of prey with short beaks and soft plumage of the genus Circus, family Accipitridae, order Ciconiiformes. There are about 13 species of harriers worldwide; Bangladesh has 5, but all are migratory (table). Harriers belong to a uniform group having long tail feathers and elongated wings, with face feathers arranged into a disc. These predators, with wings somewhat angled up, characteristically fly low over open spaces, particularly marshes, and drop on insects, and small amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Cosmopolitan in distribution, the 13 species do not overlap geographically except in Australia, where two species occur. Some are polygynous and one male will pair with up to six females. When not breeding, some species are quite gregarious and roost communally on the ground. The nest is usually on the ground in marshes, or in tall grass. The best known, the Hen-Harrier ranges across Europe and Asia.
Table Harriers of Bangladesh (Aves, Ciconiiformes: Accipitridae) (all migratory)
| Scientific
name
|
English
name
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| Circus
aeruginosus |
Eurasian
Marsh Harrier [Marsh Harrier]: Largest of all the harriers, with broader
and more rounded wings. Male: dark brown with pale rufous head, neck and
breast, dark rufous below. Wings and tail are silvery grey.
Female: dark chocolate-brown with creamy cap on head and buff at
edge of wing at shoulder.
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| Circus
macrourus |
Pallid
Harrier [Pale Harrier]: Male- pale ashy grey raptor with black tips to its
long, narrow pointed wings, especially conspicuous in flight. Long white
tail cross-barred with grey. Female: brown with buff-coloured, owl-like
round head; usually hovers over crop-fields and grassland.
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| Circus
cyaneus |
Hen-Harrier:
Male- looks like Pale Harrier but darker ashy grey above. Female- dark
brown above, brown-streaked below.
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| Circus
melanoleucos |
Pied
Harrier: Male- a slim, long-winged pied raptor of contrasting
black-and-white plumage. It has more white than black; wings are white
with black tips. Female: dark brown above with whitish rump; rufous below.
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| Circus
pygargus |
Montagu's
Harrier: Male- looks similar to Pale Harrier but darker grey tinged with
brown. Grey throat and breast below are white with chestnut stripes. A
narrow black transverse wing bar is diagnostic. Female: looks very similar
to female Pale Harrier.
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NB Previous names are given in square brackets. [Md. Anwarul Islam]
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