Page 417 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

BIRDS OF PREY
Family Accipitridae Species Elanus caerulescens Family Accipitridae Species Circus macrourus
Black-shouldered Kite Pallid Harrier
A medium-sized, blunt-headed, broad-winged bird of Of the harriers,the male Pallid Harrier is the palest and
prey with a short, narrow tail, the Black-shouldered most ghost-like, identified by its white breast
Kite is often seen hovering towards dusk, like a big, and narrow dark wedge-shaped wingtip
clumsy Kestrel (see p.140). It is uniquely grey with patch. Females are like Montagu’s
black shoulder patches and a white Harriers (see p.134) with darker
underside, the wingtips grey above but broad hindwings and a pale collar, while
black beneath. Juveniles are duller head juveniles have a bolder whitish
with pale scaly feather edges on a collar beneath dark cheeks and
darker grey back. a dark band around the hind
OCCURRENCE Rare in S and W neck.All have white rumps.
Spain and Portugal, common OCCURRENCE Rare
in Egypt, near marshland. migrant in SE Europe.
VOICE Sharp, high VOICE High,
kree-ak sound. whinnying, trilling
chatter.
very pale
black shoulder grey body
patch
dark, wedge-shaped
ADULT wingtip patch
MALE
Length 31–36cm (12–14in) Wingspan 71–85cm (28–34in) Length 40–50cm (16–20in) Wingspan 0.97–1.18m (3 1 ⁄4 –3 3 ⁄4ft)

Family Accipitridae Species Buteo rufinus Family Accipitridae Species Accipiter brevipes
Long-legged Buzzard Levant Sparrowhawk
A big, bright buzzard with a pale cinnamon or rusty Clearly a long-tailed, broad-winged, bird-eating hawk,
tail and whitish flight feathers with narrow black tips, Levant Sparrowhawk is more sociable than the
the Long-legged Buzzard often hovers over open Sparrowhawk (see p.138) and migrates in flocks. Males
ground. It has a long-winged, eagle-like appearance. have black-tipped, rather pointed wings, which are
The belly or at least flank patches are dark and the mostly white beneath; females also show dark
upperwing has a dark wrist patch against a paler outer wingtips. Both have dark eyes (Sparrowhawk’s are
mark.The tail is not black-tipped. yellow) and a black chin stripe, while males have grey
pale head
OCCURRENCE Breeds in Greece, cheeks (rusty on Sparrowhawk).
Turkey, and N Africa; moves south OCCURRENCE Breeds in Balkans and E Europe;
for winter. migrates to Africa in autumn.
VOICE Mostly silent. VOICE Shrill, repeated ke-wik.
grey orange
dark flanks cheeks underside
(female white
with dark
bars)
black-
tipped,
pointed
wings

MALE
Length 50–60cm (20–23 1 ⁄2in) Wingspan 1.3–1.5m (4 1 ⁄4 –5ft) Length 30–37cm (12–14 1 ⁄2in) Wingspan 63–76cm (25–30in)
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