Montagu’s Harrier at Bhigwan: India’s Most Elegant Winter Raptor

It arrived from somewhere north of the Urals. It crossed mountain ranges and desert margins and arrived here — in the tawny Deccan grasslands of Kadbanwadi — to spend the winter on a basalt rock. And when the jeep stopped, it simply looked at us with those burning yellow eyes and went back to surveying its territory.

By Prashant S. Gupta  ·  Bhigwan Bird Sanctuary, Maharashtra  ·  Nikon Z50  ·  April 2026  ·  © TravelOnTales

Male Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pygargus) in his element — a low basalt rock, open Deccan grassland, winter light. Kadbanwadi, Bhigwan. © Prashant S. Gupta / TravelOnTales

Most people who visit Bhigwan for the first time come for the waterbirds.

They come for the flamingos that turn the backwaters pink. Painted storks, bar-headed geese, and Ospreys perched over the dam are all on the checklist. And Bhigwan delivers — reliably and generously. However, sometime in the mid-morning, a good naturalist will suggest a different track. As a result, the landscape changes completely. The water disappears behind you. Before long, the golden tawny grassland of Kadbanwadi opens up — dry, windswept, Deccan-flat. Suddenly, you are in entirely different birding territory.

That is where the harriers are.

This male Montagu’s Harrier was perched on a basalt outcrop about twenty metres from the track. We found him during a winter safari organized through Wildagram Wildlife Expeditions. He stayed for nearly fifteen minutes. He rotated slowly on the rock, scanning the grass in every direction with that bright yellow eye. We subsequently shot him from four angles before he finally decided the grassland to the west required his attention.

The Photograph — Four Angles, One Bird

What made this encounter unusual was time. Most raptor sightings in the Indian grasslands are kinetic — a bird in low quartering flight, working a line of grass, gone in thirty seconds. A perched harrier that stays is a gift, and this individual gave us four complete compositions across fifteen minutes.

The first frame — the close portrait — shows the bird’s defining features most clearly: the yellow eye, the clean slate-blue of the head and mantle, and the dark mottling on the folded wing coverts where the secondary bar begins. This is the diagnostic shot. The wider frames that follow show the bird in its context — small and alone on a basalt rock in a vast tawny grassland, which is exactly what this species looks like at Bhigwan in January.

The habitat context photographs are important for a different reason. They show what you are actually looking at when you scan the Kadbanwadi grasslands: an open, almost featureless landscape of dry grass and scattered basalt where the elevated perch points — rocks, termite mounds, the occasional fence post — are where every raptor in the area concentrates. If you know to scan those points systematically with binoculars, the harriers find you.

The grassland harrier is a bird that rewards stillness. You don’t chase it. You park the jeep, cut the engine, and wait to see what the rocks have to say. — Field notes, Kadbanwadi grasslands, Bhigwan · January

Why the Male Montagu’s Stops You Cold

Among winter raptors on the Indian subcontinent, the male Montagu’s Harrier holds a special place. It is not the largest — the Steppe Eagle and Greater Spotted Eagle are both bigger. Similarly, it is not the most dramatic — the Osprey diving or the Peregrine stooping outranks it for pure spectacle. Nevertheless, no winter raptor in India is more visually refined.

A Bird Built From Blue and Gold

That slate-blue plumage is the defining quality. Unlike the Pallid Harrier’s pale white-grey, this is a deeper, more saturated tone. As a result, it glows almost luminous against dried Deccan grass in low winter light. Furthermore, the yellow eye, the precise folded wing, and the alert upright posture all combine to make this a genuinely beautiful subject. In short, patient watching rewards you far more than a rushed encounter.

This individual was clearly a territorial male. The same compass points were scanned in the same order each time. His response to our presence never changed: register, assess, decide we are not worth moving for, resume scanning. This outcrop had been his base for weeks. Moreover, the relaxed posture showed he had seen safari jeeps many times before. In March, however, he would leave — heading north to breed in Eurasia. The following October, another male — possibly this same bird — would return and claim a rock on this same Kadbanwadi slope.

Identifying Montagu’s vs Pallid Harrier — The Essential Guide

Both Montagu’s and Pallid Harriers winter in Bhigwan’s grasslands, and the pair is one of the most discussed ID challenges in Indian field birding. For adult males in good light — as in these photographs — the separation is actually straightforward. The problems arise with females, juveniles, and birds in flight at distance.

Here is the complete comparison for the adult male, which is what we have across all four frames:

The Secondary Bar — Your Single Best Field Mark

If you take one ID tool into the Kadbanwadi grasslands, make it this: look for the secondary bar. It is a dark band crossing the upper wing along the secondary feathers. In these photographs, it is visible on the folded wing. Moreover, it becomes dramatically clear in flight. Therefore, if you can see that bar, you have a Montagu’s. If, on the other hand, the upperwing is clean grey with only a narrow dark edge at the wingtips, you have a Pallid.

Female and Juvenile: The Hard Identification

Female and juvenile Montagu’s and Pallid Harriers are known as “ringtails.” Both are brown above and streaked below, with a barred tail and a white rump patch. As a result, they are among the hardest ID problems in Indian birding. However, the most reliable distinction is the pale collar on the Pallid — a crescent of whitish feathering behind the dark cheek. By contrast, female Montagu’s lacks this collar entirely. The head pattern is more uniform and darker behind the eye. In poor light at distance, therefore, experienced birders often leave these birds unresolved as “Monpal.” When in doubt, photograph first and review later.

The Migration Story: From Eurasia to Kadbanwadi

There is something genuinely affecting about the geography of this bird’s presence at Bhigwan.

A Journey of 5,000 Kilometres

Montagu’s Harrier breeds across a vast arc of Eurasia. Its range runs from Portugal and the UK in the west through France, Spain, Russia, Belarus, Poland and Kazakhstan to the steppes of Central Asia. Importantly, the birds wintering in India are primarily from the eastern part of this range. Departure from breeding grounds happens in August and September. After crossing mountain ranges and arid zones, the birds reach the Thar Desert margins and consequently arrive in peninsular India by October and November.

What Bhigwan Means to This Bird

The bird on that Kadbanwadi rock may therefore have flown 4,000 to 5,000 kilometres to be there. It will spend four months hunting these grasslands. Its diet includes small rodents, lizards, large grasshoppers, and the occasional small bird. By March, however, the journey north begins again. In other words, Bhigwan is simply a winter address — a seasonal territory this bird knows, perhaps returns to each year, and perhaps competes for with other males.

When you understand that, the fifteen minutes on the rock takes on a different quality. You are not simply watching a bird. Rather, you are watching the endpoint of a continental journey.

The Kadbanwadi Grasslands: Bhigwan’s Hidden Raptor Zone

Most Bhigwan trip reports focus almost exclusively on the Ujani backwaters — and for good reason. The waterbird density there is extraordinary. Consequently, the boat safari is one of Maharashtra’s finest wildlife experiences. However, the dry grassland zone around Kadbanwadi and Shirsufal near Baramati is a completely different habitat. It has a different species list. Moreover, it remains underreported in most online coverage of Bhigwan.

In winter, the Kadbanwadi grasslands host a remarkable raptor diversity. In addition to Montagu’s and Pallid Harriers, the zone regularly produces Greater Spotted Eagle, Indian Spotted Eagle, Steppe Eagle, Tawny Eagle, Booted Eagle, and Bonelli’s Eagle. Furthermore, Common Kestrel, Red-necked Falcon, White-eyed Buzzard, and Short-toed Snake Eagle are all regularly seen. As a result, for the raptor photographer, this is the most productive zone in all of Maharashtra between November and February.

Reading the Basalt Rock Scatter

The key to the grassland zone is the basalt rock scatter. The Deccan plateau’s dark basalt outcrops are low and flat-topped. Therefore, they are exactly the right height for a perched harrier or kestrel to survey the grass around it. Scan every exposed rock systematically on your approach. What looks like a dark stone from a hundred metres sometimes has wings. Meanwhile, termite mounds serve the same function — particularly for smaller raptors like the Common Kestrel. In short, anything elevated above the grass line is worth a second look.

Photography Notes: Shooting a Perched Harrier

Planning Your Bhigwan Grassland Safari

Self-Drive vs Guided: What to Know

The grassland zone at Kadbanwadi requires a vehicle — there is no practical way to cover it on foot, and the birding distances involved make a jeep essential. If you are coming from Pune on a self-drive trip, therefore, factor at least two hours for the grassland session in addition to backwater time. The productive window for perched raptors is 7 AM to 10:30 AM before the heat causes birds to seek shade.

For first-time visitors, however, a guided full-day safari is the more efficient option — the naturalist knows which rocks are currently being used as regular perches, which routes have been productive that week, and crucially, will be able to identify birds at distance before you’ve even raised your binoculars. In fact, the difference between a good day and a great day at Kadbanwadi is almost entirely a function of local knowledge.

Where to Stay and When to Leave

In addition to the grassland drive, Bhigwan village has several guesthouses, including Agnipankh, which caters specifically to birding visitors and can arrange both boat and grassland sessions locally. For those coming as a day trip from Pune, departure by 5:30 AM is recommended so that you are in the grassland zone at first light.

Frequently Asked Questions