Western Marsh-Harrier

Circus aeruginosus aeruginosus (Linnaeus, 1758)

		male
2013-08-02 Altyn-Dala rezervat, Kostanay oblast	© Aleksey Timoshenko

Description

Male in definitive plumage has rufous-buffy head with dark brown streaks; dark-brown mantle with rusty edges of feathers; dark-brown scapulars with grey bars on base; upper tail coverts are brown with grey mottles; cheeks and ear coverts are brown. First five primaries are black with white base of inner webs, outer webs are silvery-tinged. Others primaries are bluish grey with whitish pattern. Throat is whitish, other underparts are brownish-red with dark streaks. Female in definitive plumage has lighter head and top-neck; mantle and scapulars are darker than in spilonotus.

Distribution

Breeds throughout on plains of Kazakhstan, except waterless and mountain areas; widespread occurs on migration. Wintering in south from Shimkent. 30 birds were observed on Shardara reservoir 18-21 December 2003.

References

Gavrilov E. I., Gavrilov A. E. "The Birds of Kazakhstan". Almaty, 2005. Э.И.Гаврилов. "Фауна и распространение птиц Казахстана". Алматы, 1999. В.К.Рябицев. "Птицы Урала, Приуралья и Западной Сибири". Екатеринбург. Изд-во Уральского университета, 2000.