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BIRDS, ECOSYSTEMS and BEST SEASONS
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Montagus Harrier
Ecosystems: GRASSLANDS, MEADOWS AND FARMLAND
Seasons: March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October |
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Circus pygargus
FAMILY: Accipitridae
DESCRIPTION:
Sleek, medium-size bird of prey, with long wings (narrow and pointed) and a long tail. Males have a pale plumage while females are brown. They glide at low altitude, as they go in search of prey, flying over farmland, meadows and areas of wasteland. While gliding, they hold their wings in a V-shape.
STATUS IN ARAGON: E Nr (Summer visitor – Breeds regularly)
BREEDING PROBABILITY: Breeding highly likely
REPRODUCTIVTE: Yes
LOCAL STATUS: Summer visitor
MONTHS: March to October
ECOSYSTEM: Pastures, meadows and crops.
DIET AND FEEDING: Mice, voles, lizards, snakes, small and medium sized birds, insects, locusts and grasshoppers
During the mating process, a single pair of birds can consume at least:
* 530 insects (cicadas and grasshoppers)
* 335 birds (sparrows, corn buntings, etc)
* 54 rodents (mice and rats)
* 40 reptiles (small lizards)
HABITS: The eggs, which are bluish-white, are laid at the end of April. Incubation lasts for 30 days. Vulnerable due to the intensification of farming methods, which results in eggs and fledglings being lost, since the birds rely heavily on nest sites situated in cereal fields.
THREAT OF EXTINCTION + CRITERION CNEA (National Catalogue of Endangered Species): Vulnerable CREA: Vulnerable Red list: Vulnerable
ROUTES: 9 (Santa Engracia - Foz de Biniés) and 10 (Scrubland along the River Aragón)
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION: Submediterranean scrubland, open cultivated country, and lakes and wetlands.
