Polyboroides radiatus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The Madagascar harrier-hawk (Polyboroides radiatus) is a medium-sized species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, endemic to Madagascar. The Madagascar harrier-hawk is a medium-sized raptor with long and broad wings which when folded almost reach to the tip of the tail. It has a black tail with a single broad grey band bisecting the black half way along its length. Adult birds are grey above with blackish flight feathers. The underparts are white with dense dark barring on the breast, belly and underwing coverts while the upper breast and throat are the same colour as the upperparts and form a grey hood, broken by the yellow face. The bill is yellow with a black tip and the legs are yellow.
The Madagascar harrier-hawk is quite widespread and common, albeit in small numbers, in most regions of Madagascar but it is scarce on the deforested central plateau. It can be found from sea level to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) altitude.
The Madagascar harrier-hawk occurs in a variety of habitats but seems to favour undisturbed lowland rainforest. It has also been recorded from montane rainforest, spiny desert scrub, degraded forests and other wooded... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mantadia National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 2 | Ankarafantsika National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 3 | Berenty Reserve | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 4 | Ranomafana National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Madagascar Harrier-Hawk sighting in Ankarafantsika National Park on a given day, based on 41 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 63rd most-seen of the 83 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Madagascar Harrier-Hawk in Ankarafantsika National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April, July and December, the lowest months. That is one of Ankarafantsika National Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 560 mm in January. January–March and May have too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Madagascar Harrier-Hawk sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Madagascar Harrier-Hawk sightings, Ankarafantsika National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Mantadia National Park (Madagascar, about 30%).
Same family: Accipitridae
The closest relatives of the Madagascar Harrier-Hawk that you can see in Ankarafantsika National Park (family Accipitridae, Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) are Madagascar Buzzard (about 50%), Madagascar Fish-Eagle (about 50%) and Black Kite (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Madagascar Harrier-Hawk is recorded against all the birds logged in Ankarafantsika National Park (41 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
