Madagascar Marsh Harrier
Encyclopedia
The Malagasy Harrier is a bird of prey
belonging to the marsh harrier
group of harriers
. It inhabits Madagascar
and the Comoro Islands
in the Indian Ocean
. It was formerly regarded as a subspecies
of the Réunion Harrier
(C. maillardi) but is increasingly treated as a separate species. It is also known as the Madagascar Harrier, Madagascar Marsh Harrier or Malagasy Marsh Harrier.
The Réunion Harrier is smaller and darker with shorter legs and shorter, more rounded wings. Males have a blacker head and plainer secondaries and tail.
across the island except for the south. It is generally scarce with the largest numbers in the north-west. It occurs from sea-level up to 1800 m. On the Comoros it is more often found in drier habitats and in forested areas. It has occurred on all four main islands but there are no recent records from Mayotte
.
Its population size is uncertain but is estimated to be between 250 and 999 individuals. It is thought to be declining as a result of hunting and habitat destruction and is classed as vulnerable
by BirdLife International
.
and also takes reptile
s, amphibian
s, rodent
s and insect
s. It typically feeds by flying low over the ground and dropping down rapidly when it spots its prey. It will also hunt over the canopy of forests.
It breeds in marshland, building a nest
of grass and stems on the ground or low in a bush. The white eggs
are incubated
for about 32-34 days and the young birds fledge
after 42-45 days.
Bird of prey
Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....
belonging to the marsh harrier
Marsh harrier
The marsh harriers are birds of prey of the harrier subfamily. They are medium-sized raptors and the largest and broadest-winged harriers. Most of them are associated with marshland and dense reedbeds...
group of harriers
Harrier (bird)
A harrier is any of the several species of diurnal hawks forming the Circinae sub-family of the Accipitridae family of birds of prey. Harriers characteristically hunt by flying low over open ground, feeding on small mammals, reptiles, or birds....
. It inhabits Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
and the Comoro Islands
Comoro Islands
The Comoros Islands form an archipelago of volcanic islands situated off the south-east coast of Africa, to the east of Mozambique and north-west of Madagascar. They are divided between the sovereign state of Comoros and the French overseas department of Mayotte...
in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
. It was formerly regarded as a subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of the Réunion Harrier
Réunion Harrier
The Réunion Harrier or Réunion Marsh Harrier is a bird of prey belonging to the marsh harrier group of harriers. It is now found only on the Indian Ocean island of Réunion where it is known locally as the papangue or pied jaune, although fossil material from Mauritius has been referred to this...
(C. maillardi) but is increasingly treated as a separate species. It is also known as the Madagascar Harrier, Madagascar Marsh Harrier or Malagasy Marsh Harrier.
Description
It is about 59 cm long; the female is up to 13% larger than the male. The male has a blackish back and a greyer head with dark streaks. The underparts and rump are whitish and the tail is grey with dark bars. The forewings and wingtips are blackish while the secondaries are grey with dark bars. Females are browner than the males.The Réunion Harrier is smaller and darker with shorter legs and shorter, more rounded wings. Males have a blacker head and plainer secondaries and tail.
Distribution and habitat
In Madagascar it is found in marshland and grasslandGrassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
across the island except for the south. It is generally scarce with the largest numbers in the north-west. It occurs from sea-level up to 1800 m. On the Comoros it is more often found in drier habitats and in forested areas. It has occurred on all four main islands but there are no recent records from Mayotte
Mayotte
Mayotte is an overseas department and region of France consisting of a main island, Grande-Terre , a smaller island, Petite-Terre , and several islets around these two. The archipelago is located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, namely between northwestern Madagascar and...
.
Its population size is uncertain but is estimated to be between 250 and 999 individuals. It is thought to be declining as a result of hunting and habitat destruction and is classed as vulnerable
Vulnerable species
On 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...
by BirdLife International
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
.
Behaviour
It feeds mainly on birds such as the Madagascar PartridgeMadagascar Partridge
The Madagascar Partridge is a species of bird in the Phasianidae family. It is found only in Madagascar.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes....
and also takes reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
s, amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
s, rodent
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s and insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s. It typically feeds by flying low over the ground and dropping down rapidly when it spots its prey. It will also hunt over the canopy of forests.
It breeds in marshland, building a nest
Bird nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...
of grass and stems on the ground or low in a bush. The white eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
are incubated
Avian incubation
Incubation refers to the process by which certain oviparous animals hatch their eggs, and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period. Especially in domestic fowl, the act of...
for about 32-34 days and the young birds fledge
Fledge
Fledge is the stage in a young bird's life when the feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight. It also describes the act of a chick's parents raising it to a fully grown state...
after 42-45 days.
External links
- BirdLife International (2008) Species factsheet: Circus macrosceles. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 4 August 2008.