The bird family Accipitridae scientifically called Circus aeruginosus.As for us, it is called jungle or marsh harrier.What eats the hawk, which nests when brings posterity - read about it in this article.We also consider the area of distribution of the species and its regional characteristics.Surely you've seen this beautiful bird with a long tail and narrow wings raised behind in the form of letters «V».For her flight characterized by smooth, like a glider, gliding low over the ground, right at the tips of the panicles of reeds or sedges.Predatory Harrier look like wolf.Yes, and it can be compared with the gray "orderly forest".After Hawk Reed supports the ecological balance of lakes and marshes.
How does the marsh harrier
Photography shows us a rather large bird.Of all types of marsh harriers - the largest and dark.Females are much larger than their admirers.Their weight is 750 grams, body length of 60 centimeters.Males are not only modest size (550 g and 50 cm), but the plumage.It had more than motley: white, brown, gray and even black feathers create a beautiful picture.Females are "dressed" in ocher plumage shimmer with chocolate, and only their head is covered with dark specks.A characteristic feature of the harriers are long (up to 43 cm) and narrow wings.They allow birds to successfully maneuver to hover over the production or to plan long and silently over the pond.At Reed lun long legs, which he often uses.Even the building material for the nest it carries no beak, and claws.Bird distinguished and long tail - 23,5-26 cm.
Distribution
Marsh Harrier found everywhere in the Old World, except the Far North.In Russia the species is distributed from the south to the middle taiga.We have it - migrant.He otkochevyvaet south long before the freezing waters - in August in the forest zone in September in the steppes.Since the population of the south of Italy and sedentary.The number of individuals in their small summer.In winter, join a bird had flown from the north.Thus, the marsh harrier is found in the North-West Africa (up areas of rainforest), Madagascar and Reunion.Birds from eastern Russia fly to winter in Southeast Asia, even reaching the coast of Australia.In this regard, there are two subspecies of marsh harriers.They differ from each other male plumage.At the western birds is a light, brown, and at the east - a dark brown, black on the crown.
what he eats
Marsh Harrier - a bird of prey.Her prey often become small aquatic birds and their chicks.Hawk can kill even adult duck and young muskrat.He also loves to ravage nests.Grabs claws out of the water and gaping fish.Do not hesitate to take the frogs, small animals (Water Vole), carrion.If the pond can not be anything to catch flies in the desert, where they feed land animals and birds - larks, dormice, jerboas, snakes and even a large locust.Thus, the marsh harrier - not only orderly swamp (because it eats carrion and wounded game killed but not found by the hunters of ducks), it destroys harmful rodents and insects in the fields.The friendly pair resistance can give harriers gulls.Then predators are forced to look for food away from the pond.They can harm the bird farms, stealing chickens and ducklings.
How marsh harrier breeds
Nomadic birds come when the waters are released from the ice.Please come males who commit demonstrative circles with sharp turns and ballooning up over the coveted territory.These birds generally monogamous, but sometimes it also happens that the male acquires a small harem.Then sockets are located near each other.Laying in Looney cumbersome reaches a meter in diameter and 0.5 m in height.The material of the last year are sedges, reeds and other riparian vegetation.Marsh harrier nests in secluded places - among the quagmire of peat swamps and on the islands.The female lays 4-5 large (up to 5 centimeters) of white with green and ocher mottled eggs.She incubates them all 35 days, and her husband brings her food.Newborn nestlings yellow fluff, and only the head is white.After molting they added dark spots around the eyes.Chicks begin to fly on the fortieth day.
Lifestyle
Interestingly, the marsh harrier, as a predator, never pursuing their prey.He prefers to miss the birds or animals from the surface water, and land animals - where it sits on the ground.During nesting lun held near a lake or swamp, and only when the chicks grow up, goes in search of prey in the surrounding meadows or fields.On a hot afternoon siesta birds arrange themselves in the dense reeds, but most insatiable appetite makes Yastrebkov ceaselessly circling above the water surface.His shrill "kiyyuyu-kiyyuyu-kiyyuyu" often can be heard in the woods, near the small eye-Ozerets with marshy banks.Harrier legs so strong that it is able to carry off the booty weight.But on the ground, he moved reluctantly, preferring to spend time in the air.
