Hen Harrier

The male hen harrier is a treat for the eyes: pale grey with black wingtips and a white rump. The female is streaky brown with a conspicuous white rump, which is why she is nicknamed the "ringtail". Males and females look so different that they were long thought to be two separate species. In winter it arrives from the north to the marshes and polders around Bouin, where it glides low over the fields, wings in a shallow V, hunting voles and small birds. Its owl-like face helps it locate prey by ear. The useless fact: during the breeding season, the male passes his prey to the female in mid-air. She rolls onto her back and catches the food in her talons, both of them flying.