Marsh Harrier
Characteristics
The Marsh Harrier is a large, bulky harrier with fairly broad wings. It is 42 to 56 cm in length with a wingspan of 115 to 140 cm. The male is mostly reddish-brown with a pale yellowish head and shoulders, yellowish streaks on the breast and a grey tail.
The forewing is brown and the flight feathers are grey with black wingtips. The female is dark chocolate-brown with yellowish crown, throat and shoulders although the extent of the yellowish colour is variable. Juveniles are similar to females but usually lack yellowish shoulders.
Habitat
The Marsh Harrier is strongly associated with wetland areas, especially those with reeds. It also occurs in a variety of other open habitats such as farmland and grassland, particularly where these border marshland. The nest is made of sticks, reeds and grass. It is usually built in a reedbed but they will also nest in arable fields. There are usually three to eight eggs in a clutch. The eggs are oval in shape and white in colour with a bluish or greenish tinge when first laid.
Behaviour
It hunts by flying low over flat, open ground searching for prey with its wings held in a shallow V-shape. It feeds particularly on small mammals such as water voles and on birds but also eats insects, reptiles, amphibians, fish and carrion.
B.A.C.
