How do I know if I have an Oriental honey buzzard?
It is easy to identify, even in flight, on account of its long pigeon or cuckoo-like head and neck, and broader black-and-white bands on its tail. The bird is also called the crested honey buzzard, but its stunted crest is hardly ever visible.
How many honey buzzards are there in the UK?
Population size: 100 pairs. Conservation status: AMBER (Rare breeder in UK). Lifespan: Average age in the wild unknown. Adults have an 86% year-to-year survival.
How do you tell the difference between a male and female buzzard?
As with many other birds of prey, the female buzzard is larger than the male. Although the colour can vary, the plumage is mostly medium-brown with a pale, half-moon shape on the breast. The wings have pale flight feathers and brown wing-linings. The top of the wing is a darker, more uniform brown.
Why is it called honey buzzard?
Despite its English name, this species is more closely related to kites of the genera Leptodon and Chondrohierax than to true buzzards in Buteo. The binomen is derived from Ancient Greek pernes περνης, a term used by Aristotle for a bird of prey, and Latin apivorus “bee-eating”, from apis, “bee” and -vorus, “-eating”.
Do honey buzzards get stung?
Unlike most raptors, honey buzzards primarily eat the larvae of wasps and bees. They have unique physical adaptations that allow them to hunt their prey without being stung.
What is the difference between a honey buzzard and a common buzzard?
Honey buzzards resemble common buzzards, but with longer wings, a longer tail and a slim neck that’s often held forward in a cuckoo-like manner. Plumage is highly variable, but adults are typically greyish-brown above with paler underparts.
How can you tell a red kite from a buzzard?
Red kites are more slender than the broad winged thick set buzzard and also have a longer wing span. However the main way to distinguish the species (apart from the colour) is the animal’s tail. The buzzard has a short broad fanned tail whilst the red kite has a very distinctive long forked tail.
Do honey buzzards eat hornets?
Where can I find a honey buzzard?
Where and when to see them. Honey buzzards nest in southern and eastern England, Wales, northern England and northern Scotland. There are wardened watchpoints in Devon and Norfolk.
What are the plumages of European honey buzzards?
The plumages of European Honey Buzzard are many and complex. The basic pattern resembles Common Buzzard, but both adults and juveniles come in a wide variety of plumage types ranging from very dark to almost white. Most juveniles are of the dark type.
Autumn juveniles are structurally slightly less distinct, a bit shorter winged and therefore more likely to be mistaken for Common Buzzard. The flight is much ‘looser’ than that of Common Buzzard, with fluid, flexible wing-beats. European Honey Buzzard soars on flat wings and glides with the wings slightly drooped.
What does a buzzard look like with a pale iris?
This is a rather pale individual with extensive white in the underparts, but the typical pattern of dark markings in the malars, breast-sides and flanks is still evident. The pale iris indicates a young bird (Conor Molloy). Common Buzzard breeds throughout the Palearctic and occurs in a number of subspecies.
How can you tell if a buzzard is an adult?
Common Buzzard plumages are highly variable, however, and this bird lacks an obvious dark upper breast ‘shield’ and paler breast band. The dark eye here indicates that this individual is an adult (Alan Tate). Adult European Honey Buzzard (Castilla y León, Spain, 29 July 2012).