This hawk bird is scientifically called Circus aeruginosus. In our country, it is called the reed, or marsh harrier. What does this hawk eat, where does it nest when it brings offspring - read about this in this article. We will also consider the distribution area of the species and its regional features. Surely you saw this beautiful bird with a long tail and narrow wings, raised behind in the form of the letter "V". Its flight is characterized by a smooth glide, like a glider, low above the ground, right at the panicles of reeds or the tops of sedge. The predatory gaze of the moon resembles a wolf. Yes, it can be compared with this gray "forest orderly". After all, the reed hawk maintains the ecological balance of swamps and lakes.
What does the marsh mun look like
The photo shows us a rather large bird. Of all the species of moons, the swamp is the largest and darkest. Females are significantly larger than their gentlemen. Their weight reaches 750 grams, the body length is 60 centimeters. Males differ not only in modest sizes (550 g and 50 cm), but also in plumage. They are more colorful: white, brown, gray and even black feathers create a beautiful pattern. Females are dressed in ocher plumage with a chocolate tint, and only their head is covered with dark specks. A characteristic feature of the moons are long (up to 43 centimeters) and narrow wings. They allow birds to successfully maneuver, hover over prey, or long and silently plan over a pond. The reed moon has long legs, which he often uses. Even he transfers the building material for the nest not in his beak, but in his claws. The bird is distinguished by a long tail - 23.5-26 centimeters.
Spread
Swamp moons are found everywhere in the Old World, except in the far North. In Russia, the species is distributed from the very south of the country to the middle taiga. In our country it is a migratory bird. It migrates south long before the freezing of water bodies - in August in the forest zone, in September in the steppes. From Italy to the south, populations lead a sedentary lifestyle. The number of individuals in them is small in summer. In winter, birds arriving from the north join. Thus, reed moon is also found in Northwest Africa (to the zone of equatorial forests), on the islands of Madagascar and Reunion. Birds from the eastern part of Russia fly to winter in Southeast Asia, reaching even the shores of Australia. In this regard, there are two subspecies of swamp moons. They differ from each other by the plumage of males. In western birds it is lighter, brown, and in eastern birds it is dark brown, black on the crown.
What does he eat
Marsh harrier - bird of prey. Small waterfowl and their chicks often become its prey. A hawk can kill even an adult duck and a young muskrat. He also loves to destroy nests. Claws out of the water and gape fish. It does not disdain frogs, small animals (water voles), carrion. If you can’t catch anything in the water, it flies to the steppe, where it feeds on land animals and birds - larks, ground squirrels, jerboas, snakes and even large locusts. Thus, the reed’s harrier is not only an orderly swamp (since it eats carrion and wounded animals killed but not found by duck hunters), it destroys harmful rodents and insects in the fields. Seagulls can give a friendly rebuff to a couple of moons. Then the predators are forced to seek food away from the reservoir. They can harm poultry farms by abducting chickens and ducklings.
How marsh harrier breeds
Nomadic birds arrive when the ponds are freed from ice. First, males arrive who make demonstrative circles with sharp turns and soaring upwards over the chosen territory. These birds are mostly monogamous, but sometimes it happens that the male gets a small harem. Then the nests are located close to each other. The laying of the moons is bulky, reaching a meter in diameter and 0.5 m in height. The material is last year's sedge, reeds, and other near-water vegetation. Swamp harrows nest in secluded places - among peat rafts and swamps, on islands. The female lays 4-5 large (up to 5 centimeters) white eggs with green and ocher variegated eggs. She incubates them all 35 days, and her husband brings her food. In newborn chicks, the fluff is yellow, and only the head is white. After molting, they add dark spots to the eyes. The chicks begin to fly on the fortieth day.
