Harrier

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HarrierThe birds in question are rare in our area. Long, relatively narrow tail, whitish body color and black pointed ends of wide long wings. Already by these signs, we can confidently say that this is a loonie. "As gray as a harrier" - who doesn't know these words? However, it should be noted that only males who have lived up to 3-5 years are endowed with gray-white plumage, females and young animals have a darker outfit.

HarrierMoons rarely soar high into the sky, prefer to fly low above the ground, while, as a rule, they plan for a long time. Apparently, it’s easier to spot in the dense grasses rodents... Birds can also be seen sitting in a column on some hill, for example, a hummock, a haystack or a tree standing alone in a field. They are waiting for prey and sitting on the branches of bushes.

HarrierThe size of a bird is about a rook, but thanks to the elongated wings and tail, they seem much larger than our white-billed messenger of spring. Luni, especially field and steppe, are invaluable helpers to the farmer. Their main prey is agricultural pests, murine rodents. In our country, there are several species of harriers.

HarrierThe field harrier is widespread throughout the territory, except for the tundra, the meadow harrier barely enters the forest zone from the south, the steppe harrier is found in the steppes and forest-steppes, and the piebald harrier in the Far East, the swamp harrier is widespread almost throughout Russia, but it is common and even numerous only on the lakes of our south.

HarrierOnce I managed to catch a couple of harriers during the incubation period. The female patiently sat on the clutch, and the male diligently procured food for her, which he brought and laid on the ground next to the nest. And sometimes the female, seeing the approaching spouse, flew from the nest and rushed to meet him. That, in turn, soared up sharply and released prey from its clawed paws - most often it was a vole, which the female grabbed in the air. After performing such a dexterous trick, the male flew away in search of new prey, and the female hurried to the nest, where she made her meal. It happened that the lunikha started eating away from the masonry, but at the same time she was always on the alert. As soon as the slightest danger was suspected, she immediately rushed to the nest and assumed a threatening pose, ready to attack. More than once she happened to drive away uninvited guests. And once I happened to see how a cat, daring to approach the nest, carried away its legs, tail and ears between its legs, pursued by a brave bird.

HarrierThe female incubated the clutch for about a month. Chicks have appeared. When the babies got a little stronger, the caring mother began to leave her nest in order to take part in the hunt with her husband. This is understandable. After all, one male can no longer feed the grown cubs.

It's funny to watch the lunats. These fools are surprisingly reminiscent of puffy chickens, differing from them with hooked beaks. Only later, when the first feathers decorate the downy outfit, the chicks will begin to show signs of the behavior of a bird of prey. When a stranger approaches, they assume an aggressive posture, ready to stand up for themselves, to use sharp claws.

Yuri Novikov


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