The pallid harrier is a species of harrier, a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It breeds in southern parts of eastern Europe and central Asia and Iran and winters mainly in India and southeast Asia. It is a rare but increasing vagrant to Great Britain and western Europe. In 2017 a pair of pallid harriers nested in a barley field in the Netherlands; they raised four chicks, the first recording breeding of the species in the country. In 2019, a pair bred in Spain for the first time.
Region
Eurasian steppes
Typical Environment
Breeds from southern Eastern Europe through southern Russia and Kazakhstan into western Central Asia, favoring open steppe, semidesert, and extensive grasslands. Winters mainly in the Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia, with smaller numbers in the Middle East. Uses agricultural landscapes, fallow fields, and marsh edges outside the breeding season. Regular but scarce vagrant to western Europe, where it has recently bred in a few countries.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 2000 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The pallid harrier is a slim, elegant raptor of open steppes and grasslands, often seen quartering low over fields with buoyant, elastic wingbeats. Males are strikingly pale with black wing tips, while females and juveniles are brownish with a conspicuous white rump. It breeds across the Eurasian steppe and winters mainly on the Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia. Ground-nesting makes it vulnerable to agricultural disturbance, though nest protection schemes have helped in some regions.
Pallid harrier in Little Rann of Kutch
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
buoyant low quartering with short rapid wingbeats and glides
Social Behavior
Nests on the ground in open steppe or grassy fields, typically with a loose territory spacing. Clutch size is usually 3–6 eggs, and both sexes participate in provisioning. Communal roosting occurs in winter, sometimes in tall grass or reedbeds.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
Vocal mainly near the nest with sharp, high-pitched kek-kek or chattering calls. Generally quiet on migration and in winter, giving occasional whistles or squeals during interactions.
Plumage
Adult male is pale grey above with whitish underparts and contrasting black wing tips and secondaries; females and juveniles are warm brown with streaked underparts. All ages show a conspicuous white rump. Juveniles often show a pale buff collar and rich rufous underparts.
Diet
Takes small mammals (especially voles and mice), small birds such as larks and pipits, lizards, and large insects including grasshoppers. Hunts by coursing low over open ground, dropping suddenly onto prey detected by sight. Will occasionally take carrion or insects flushed by agricultural activity.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in open steppe, fallow farmland, dry grasslands, and marsh edges. In winter, often forages over scrubby plains, dry fields, and grasslands with scattered bushes.
