Description:

Medium-sized harrier with relatively short legs; comparatively broad-winged and stocky. Male has dark grey upperparts, extensive black wing-tips and lacks black secondary bars. Female has broad white band across uppertail-coverts and rather plain head pattern. Juvenile has streaked underparts as female, but with rufous-brown coloration.

Distribution:

Common passage migrant and winter visitor though out Gilgit-Baltistan. Prefers open country in plains and foothills; semi-desert, grassy slopes, cultivation, scrub-covered plains, reed-beds, marshes and lakes. From lowlands up to 3000m.

Behavior:

Normally slow, low foraging flight, relying heavily on hearing prey, which is mainly captured on ground; occasionally takes birds in flight. Diet consists mostly of vertebrates, especially mammals; also takes birds of open habitats like wetlands and grasslands. Birds often predominate, in breeding season. Also takes invertebrates, especially in winter, carrion.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Hen Harrier in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Hen Harrier

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.