---
title: "Bonte kiekendief"
description: "Circus melanoleucos — Vogels. The pied harrier (Circus melanoleucos) is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, named for the male's distinctive white and black colouration."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/pied-harrier
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Bonte kiekendief

> Circus melanoleucos — Vogels. The pied harrier (Circus melanoleucos) is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, named for the male's distinctive white and black colouration.

- Scientific name: *Circus melanoleucos*
- Category: `birds` (Vogels)
- Habitats: `grassland` (Weiden en velden)
- iNaturalist observations: 1314
- Wikidata: [Q900773](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q900773)
- iNaturalist taxon: [5169](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/5169)

## Names

- en: Pied Harrier
- de: Elsterweihe
- es: Aguilucho pío
- fr: Busard tchoug
- nl: Bonte kiekendief
- pt: Tartaranhão-alvinegro
- pl: Błotniak czarnogłowy

## Countries with the most observations

TH (336), RU (315), CN (220), IN (106), HK (38), MY (32), TW (32), SG (16), KR (13), KH (12), BD (11), VN (11)

## Summary

The pied harrier (Circus melanoleucos) is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, named for the male's distinctive white and black colouration.
It is a migratory bird endemic to Asia, ranging roughly from southern Siberia to the Philippines. They are primarily solitary although will sometimes form loose groups. They mostly live in open country and eat small mammals.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pied_harrier

## Photo

![Bonte kiekendief](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/pied-harrier/medium.jpg)

Photo: S.MORE · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/35942191

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/pied-harrier?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).