📸 PhotoPhoto: Induchoodan A · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Pied Harrier
Circus melanoleucos (Pied Harrier · マダラチュウヒ)
🇰🇷 Class II endangered wildlife (Korea) · Natural Monument (Korea) «Pied Harrier»
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its maximum body length of 50 cm is about 1.7 times the long side of an A4 sheet of paper (29.7 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 Its maximum wingspan of 1.25 m is wider than the diameter of a large open umbrella (about 1 m) (Comparison).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The pied harrier is a medium-sized bird of prey distributed from East Asia to Southeast Asia; in Korea it is a rare spring and autumn passage migrant, with some pairs also breeding in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Males have a black face, breast, back, and wingtips with a white belly and underwings, whereas females are brownish overall.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It flies slowly over lower river reaches, reedbeds, and wetlands in search of prey.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
In Korea, it is a Class II endangered wildlife (Korea) species, was designated a Natural Monument (Korea) on November 16, 1982 (1982-11-16), and is a rare passage migrant in spring and autumn.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2021) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22695402/203542370
- • 멸종위기 야생생물 Ⅱ급 · 천연기념물 «알락개구리매» — 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000001600 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000001600
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • Korean protection status: Class II endangered wildlife (Korea) · Natural Monument (Korea) «Pied Harrier»
- • doi.org — avilist.v2026
- • iucnredlist.org — 203542370
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000001600 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000001600
- • heritage.go.kr — culSelectDetail.do
- • wikidata.org — Q900773
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Pied Harrier (Female).jpg
- • nie.re.kr — view.do
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Shyamal · CC BY 3.0 (Congeneric silhouette — Circus)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.