Pied Harrier

The pied harrier is named for the male's distinctive black and white colouring: black on the head, neck, back, breast and primaries, and white on the forewing, rump and the rest of the underparts, with striking yellow eyes. Females are dark brown above and pale brown to white below with dark streaking and a small white rump. It is 41–49 cm long; males weigh 265–325 g and females 390–455 g. Its wings reach far down the tail but not past the tip (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is a migratory bird endemic to Asia, breeding from Lake Baikal in southern Siberia through Mongolia and north-east China to North Korea, and wintering from eastern India and Sri Lanka through Southeast Asia to the Philippines and Borneo; there are also some year-round populations in north-eastern India (Assam) and Myanmar. It lives mostly in open country and eats mostly small mammals, especially voles. It is primarily solitary but sometimes forms loose groups. SoIB 2023 rates it a Low conservation priority, a winter migrant of open habitat with a Moderate range of about 97,000 km² (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).