Gould wrote 'it is...occasionally to be met with in all parts of England...it loves the open country, whether it be the high fell or the low marsh, where it may readily procure the snakes, frogs, newts and insects which constitute its favourite diet, - not that it refuses to prey upon moles, rats and the young of rodents of a larger kind.'

Gould paid tribute to Colonel Montagu after whom this species was named 'a true lover of nature, who employed his discriminating faculties to a good and useful purpose, when he so clearly ...pointed out the distinctions between the present bird and the Hen Harrier'.

A life-size adult male is depicted feeding on a mole, with the female behind.

DISTRIBUTION: Breeds in west and central Palaearctic from south and southeast British Isles to southwest Siberia and west China and south to northwest Africa, southern Europe through to south Kirghiz steppes. Winters from southern Europe across to southeast China, south to south Africa and south Asia, east to India and Sri Lanka. In Britain and northwest Europe breeding numbers continue to decline