Birds
Montagu's Harrier
Circus pygargus · Erete sur
A slim, buoyant harrier of open grasslands, wintering in Africa.
At a glance
- Status in Romania
- Summer visitor
- Habitat
- Meadow
- Activity
- Morning · Daytime
- Diet
- Mainly small birds (especially fledglings) and small mammals.
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)
- Photography difficulty
- Difficult
Identification
Males are pale grey with black wingtips and a thin black bar across the upperwing; females are brown with a white rump.
Habitat
Open areas with low natural vegetation and isolated shrubs: grasslands, pastures, farmland, stubble and marshes.
Distribution
Breeds at a few relatively isolated lowland sites in the Western Plain, Romanian Plain, southern Moldavia and Dobrogea. Winters in Africa south of the Sahara.
Approximate range in Romania
When it is active
Morning · Daytime
Diet
Mainly small birds (especially fledglings) and small mammals.
Behaviour
Light, tilting flight low over vegetation.
Seasonality in Romania
Breeds in Romania and is migratory. Arrives from wintering areas in April and leaves in September to early October.
- JanUnknown
- FebUnknown
- MarUnknown
- AprPresent
- MayPresent
- JunPresent
- JulPresent
- AugPresent
- SepPresent
- OctUnknown
- NovUnknown
- DecUnknown
Source-verified months inform the seasonal filters. Local timing can vary. Unconfirmed months do not imply absence. * Event timing retained from the earlier entry, not yet source-verified.
How to find it
Open grassland and farmland in the south and east between April and September.
Photography
General guidance based on the species’ behaviour, not a report of Nick’s personal field experience.
- Difficulty
- Difficult
- Starting shutter speed
- 1/2000 sec or faster for flight.
- Fieldcraft
- Wait at a field edge rather than walking through grassland.
- Ethics
- A ground-nester in crops and grassland. Never search for nests.
Practical starting points, not fixed rules.