Places and times seen in Munakata city

To Munakata comes as a winterbird and can be seen from November to March.
It is seen in the mountains and hills of the city, over the agricultural land. I often see where I am stuck in a utility pole of a paddy field at the foot of the mountain. Munakata Oshima and Kojima are relatively common.

Characteristic

Takeshi Tamotsu 52 cm, female 56 cm. Raptor poultry of the crow size and males and females are almost same color.
The top of the body from the top of the head to the back is blackish brown with pale brown feathers and plaques. Overpupillary line and jaw line are dark brown color, lower side of the body is light brown with chest and abdomen has big macular pattern of blackish brown aside but its pattern is diverse. There are blackish brown vertical spots on the underside below the chest and abdomen. The upper side of the tail is dark brown, and on the island is often black and looks uniformly. The underside of the tail is brown and has blackish brown transverse spots. The beak is black, the braze base, the base of the beak and the foot are yellow. Young birds are characterized by their eyes being yellow.
It sings "Pie", but it does not crowd except during breeding season.
It is squatting compared to other birds of prey.

Habit

Mountains, hills, agricultural lands and so on. In winter, they feed mainly on rats, and they fly as if they float on a single point in the air without flapping, and search for rats from high altitude in the way of flying called "hanging." Amphibians, reptiles, birds and the like may also be predisposed.

distribution

In Japan, it is a stubborn or winter bird in the north of the Chubu region and winter in the south. Munakata is a typical winter bird of prey in the winter.
Worldwide, it breeds in the Eurasian continent, and in the winter it winter over from the South China Sea to the coastal region of the eastern Indian subcontinent and in the coastal region of the southeastern Africa. In Europe and Japan there are also individuals that will become resident birds.

Other

Sometimes around the end of March you will see an air battle with Sashiba, the representative of the birds of prey in the summer.