Semicolonial nesting and conservation of the Montagu's harrier Circus pygargus in rapeseed fields in Southern Podlasie (eastern Poland)

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominik Krupiński ◽  
Jerzy Lewtak ◽  
Krzysztof Szulak

Semicolonial nesting and conservation of the Montagu's harrier Circus pygargus in rapeseed fields in Southern Podlasie (eastern Poland) Agrocoenosis are important nest sites for Montagu's harriers. In 2009, a large semicolony of 14 Montagu's harrier pairs was recorded in a rapeseed field in eastern Poland. The breeding colony arose due to a shortage of crops of suitable height in the period of nest building, caused by unfavourable weather conditions and a delayed onset of vegetation growth. The mean clutch size and hatchling number was 3.62, and the mean number of chicks in pairs that bred successfully was 2.00. Losses in broods due to predation and farming treatments were low (2% and 6%, respectively).

Biologia ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jarosław Wiącek

AbstractAggressive behaviour of Montagu’s harrier was observed during the pre-laying period in the 1992–1995 seasons on the calcareous marshes of Chelm in Eastern Poland. In total, 435 flights performed by 24 pairs of individually marked harriers were analysed. All flights were performed in relation to the territory of defence. Males performed 61% of aggressive interactions while females performed 39%. Intraspecific and interspecific aggression comprising direct attacks (58%), escorts (13%), pursuits (28%) and “mirror behaviour” (1%) were described for the first time. Interspecific aggressive behaviour occurred only near territory boundaries. The main intruders were marsh harriers Circus aeruginosus breeding on the same marshes. Occasionally, harriers attacked curlews Numenius arquata, short-eared owls Asio flammeus, magpies Pica pica, hooded crows Corvus corone cornix, common buzzards Buteo buteo or hobbies Falco subbuteo. Four cases of communal mobbing were observed. Three to five males from the neighbourhood attacked the intruders together. Intraspecific aggressive behaviour was observed in the pair territory, near the boundary or at a distance of up to 100 m from the defended area. Aggressive interactions performed by both sexes were more frequent towards birds of the same sex. Females defended their territories more aggressively against females. Similarly, males were more aggressive against males. All cases of aggressive behaviour were observed near harrier territories. Aggressive relations between birds outside breeding territories or when foraging around marshes were not observed.


2015 ◽  
Vol 191 ◽  
pp. 452-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús Hernández-Pliego ◽  
Manuela de Lucas ◽  
Antonio-Román Muñoz ◽  
Miguel Ferrer

2017 ◽  
Vol 158 (3) ◽  
pp. 753-760
Author(s):  
Iben H. Sørensen ◽  
Almut E. Schlaich ◽  
Raymond H. G. Klaassen ◽  
Henning Heldbjerg ◽  
Ben J. Koks

2001 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz Arroyo ◽  
François Mougeot ◽  
Vincent Bretagnolle

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 20170073 ◽  
Author(s):  
Almut E. Schlaich ◽  
Willem Bouten ◽  
Vincent Bretagnolle ◽  
Henning Heldbjerg ◽  
Raymond H. G. Klaassen ◽  
...  

Long-distance migrants are particularly recognized for the distances covered on migration, yet little is known about the distances they cover during the rest of the year. GPS-tracks of 29 Montagu's harriers from breeding areas in France, The Netherlands and Denmark showed that harriers fly between 35 653 and 88 049 km yr −1 , of which on average only 28.5% is on migration. Mean daily distances during migration were 296 km d −1 in autumn and 252 km d −1 in spring. Surprisingly, males' daily distances during breeding (217 km d −1 ) were close to those during migration, whereas breeding females moved significantly less (101 km d −1 ) than males. In terms of flight distance, the breeding season seemed nearly as demanding as migration periods for males. During the six winter months, both sexes moved less (114 and 128 km d −1 for females and males, respectively) than during migration. Harriers therefore covered shorter daily distances during winter which might allow birds to compensate for the more demanding phases of migration and breeding.


1993 ◽  
Vol 105 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Lavin ◽  
R Cuenca ◽  
I Marco ◽  
J Pastor ◽  
L Vinas

Biologia ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaroslaw Wiącek

AbstractMixed communal roosting of Montagu’s harrier Circus pygargus in the pre-laying period was observed on Calcareous Marshes in Eastern Poland from 1992 to 1995. To my knowledge, this behaviour was described in literature for the first time. The communal roosting in Montagu’s harrier during courtship can help in estimation of mate attraction and finally in mate choice. Harriers from communal roosts start egg laying earlier when compared to the outside roosts. Communal roosting as anti-predator behaviour can help with predator detection and provides benefits to all members of the group. The pair formation process has led to disintegration of communal roosting. Males were more common in the roosting places than females. The time of roosting was correlated with the photoperiod. The weather and predators impact delayed the formation of mixed roosting places.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 16620-16621
Author(s):  
Suman Pratihar ◽  
Niloy Mandal

One Montagu’s Harrier Circus pygargus subadult female was identified and photographed in December, 2019 in West Bengal, India.  This is the first record from the state.


Diversity ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 105
Author(s):  
Volodymyr Kucherenko ◽  
Pavel Kalinovsky

The winter roost of the long-eared owl Asio otus in Crimea (South of Ukraine), located in Simferopol, is described. In 2015–2017, the number of long-eared owls varied on a convex curve, with the maximum reached at the end of November and in December. The birds exhibited a strong preference for roosting in conifers, where we recorded 89% of the owls. There was an inverse relationship between the mean of the maximum daily temperature (°C) and the number of owls in both seasons. The owls were not sensitive to abrupt but short-term temperature changes, but the temperature decrease curve caused practically synchronous changes in the dynamics of bird numbers. It was found that the number of owls significantly differed based on weather conditions in 16 trees. The proportion of owls sitting on coniferous trees increased with unfavourable weather, and the converse pattern was observed for deciduous trees.


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