In 2017 a pair of pallid harriers nested in a barley field in the Netherlands; they raised four chicks, the first recording breeding of the species in the country.

This is a typical harrier, with long wings held in a shallow V in its low flight.

It is very similar to the female Montagu's harrier, but has a paler belly and a well defined facial pattern.

[5] Pallid harriers primarily hunt small mammals and birds, surprising them as they drift low over fields and moors.

Other food sources include large insects (typically grasshoppers and locusts), lizards and frogs.