Bird of prey honey buzzard. honey buzzards

Vida

Appearance and behavior. A medium-sized predator, noticeably larger, comparable to,. Body length 52–60 cm, weight 500–1,000 g, wingspan 130–150 cm. Male and female differ slightly in size. In comparison with other predators of similar size and build, the head of the honey buzzard looks disproportionately small and narrow, the beak is elongated and weak. Nostrils are slit-like. In adults, the cere is gray-bluish, the iris is bright yellow, rarely orange-yellow. Unfeathered tarsus and fingers are yellow, slightly shortened, claws are short, blunt, slightly curved. The wings and tail are wide and long in relation to the size of the body.

Description. Plumage coloration is very variable. Usually the top is brownish with darker blurred spots, the bottom is light with clear rounded, teardrop-shaped or transverse streaks. In females, this dark pattern is usually thicker, the streaks can almost merge into a reddish or brownish plastron, masking a light background. In males, the underside of the body looks on average lighter due to more sparse streaks, some individuals are completely white below, with only a weak “necklace” on the chest. Occasionally there are reddish and uniformly dark individuals (mainly females). The top and sides of the head are always monochromatic, more often ash-gray, especially in males, in the form of a “hood”, delimited from a white or mottled chin or throat.

The bird can puff up the elongated plumage on the back of the head in the form of a small crest. The entire front of the head is covered with dense scaly plumage, which protects against wasp stings. The bright eyes and the "non-predatory" look of the honey buzzard are well remembered, because they look unusual for a predator due to the absence of relief brow ridges and a fully feathered bridle. In a flying bird, on the wing from below, a clear black rim is noticeable along its posterior edge, 2–3 dark stripes across the flight feathers, and small “stripes” on the lower coverts of the wing. From above, the wings are brownish, with blurry stripes; in some females, a small white spot is developed in front at the base of the shoulder.

Steam is relatively rare. Often uses flapping and gliding flight at low altitude, keeping wings slightly bent and tail folded. This is how the goshawk usually flies, but the honey buzzard differs from it in its “loose”, less speedy and less maneuverable flight, the absence of a light eyebrow, the uneven coloring of the wings and the bottom of the body. When looking at a flying bird from the side, a small elongated head is noticeable, which the honey buzzard holds straight, and not with a lowered beak, like most predators. Unlike the buzzard, the soaring honey buzzard keeps its wings in the same plane with the body (the buzzard slightly raises it), it has better visible “fingers” of primary flight feathers. The black margins at the ends of the "fingers" are clearly defined and do not merge together. The wings themselves look longer and narrower than those of the buzzard, their rear edge is less convex, carpal folds are better expressed. The tail is also longer than that of the buzzard, with a more rounded edge when fully extended.

It differs from the dwarf eagle, to which the buzzard looks like a silhouette, pronounced “fingers” and white spots at the base of the shoulders, it differs in a rounded, and not directly cropped tail, the presence of regular clear stripes on the tail and wings. In color and silhouette, the high-flying light honey buzzard can also be confused with the short-toed eagle, but the latter is much larger, large-headed, without dark spots on the folds of the wings. Large dark spots at the carpal folds from below and three dark bands on a gray or brown background of the tail help in determining flying birds - a wide apical and two narrow, closer to the base (one is half-hidden by feathers of the uppertail and undertail).

Distinguishing young honey beetles from other predators is difficult even at close range, as they lack many of the diagnostic features of adult birds. Their iris is dull, from dark brown to yellow-gray; the bridle, like that of other birds of prey, is covered with hair-like plumage, through which the skin is visible; wax is light yellow. As in adults, the general coloration of young birds varies from very light to dark brown. The streaks on the underside of the body are longitudinal (if any), a monochromatic "hood" is not developed. In birds of a light morph, the head and neck are noticeably lighter than the brown back, often with a dark mask from eye to ear; adult birds.

The flying young honey buzzard has more stripes on the wings than adults, but they are less pronounced, the background of secondary flight feathers is noticeably darker than the background of primary feathers, like in young light harriers. The dark margin along the hind edge of the wing is not sharp or absent, the dark margins of the “fingers” are more widespread and merge together, like in a buzzard, but at the same time they are indistinctly demarcated from the light margin of the main part of the wing. There are not 3 transverse stripes on the tail, but 4 or more, like in hawks, they are narrower and not so conspicuous. Up close it can be seen that the tops of the flight and tail feathers have a narrow light border.

Distribution, status. Breeds in Palearctic from Western Europe to Yenisei Siberia, Altai, Elburz. Winters in tropical Africa. In the forest zone of Russia it is a rare or common species, rare in the northern taiga, in completely open spaces it occurs only on migration. Flies away in August or September; in the south of the region it can form migratory aggregations of hundreds of individuals.

Lifestyle. Prefers sparse broad-leaved and mixed forests with clearings, forest floodplains, mosaic forest-meadow biotopes. Arrives from winter quarters in late April or early May, after the appearance of foliage. At the beginning of the breeding season, the male makes mating flights with hovering at the highest point of the trajectory, accompanied by wing flapping over the back. Pairs do not have permanent nesting territories; every year they build a new medium-sized nest, occasionally occupying someone else's. Be sure to weave fresh branches with green leaves into the building. Usually the nest is hidden in the crown at a height of 8–15 m. They are very secretive near the nest. Clutch 2, rarely 3 cream-colored eggs with brown and buffy spots. Both birds incubate, regularly changing. The first downy outfit of chicks is white, the second is grayish.

The common honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus) belongs to the falconiformes order.

External signs of the common honey buzzard

The common honey buzzard is a small bird of prey with a body size of 60 cm and a wingspan of 118 to 150 cm. Its weight is 360 - 1050 g.

The color of the plumage of the common honey buzzard is extremely variable.

The lower body is dark brown or dark brown, sometimes yellow or almost white, often with a red tinge, spots and stripes. The top is mostly brown or brownish-gray. The tail is gray-brown with a wide dark stripe at the tip and two pale and narrow stripes at the base of the tail feathers. On a gray background, 3 dark stripes are visible from below. Two clearly stand out, and the 3rd is partially hidden under the lower coverings.

On the wings, numerous large motley spots form several stripes along the wing. A prominent dark stripe runs along the trailing edge of the wing. There is a large spot on the carpal fold. Horizontal stripes on the wings and tail feathers are distinctive features of the species. The common honey buzzard has long and narrow wings. The tail is rounded along the edge, long.

The head is rather small and narrow. Males have a grayish head. The iris of the eye is golden. The beak is sharp and hooked, with a black tip.

Paws are yellow with strong toes and powerful short claws. All fingers are heavily covered with small scales with many angles. The common honey buzzard strongly resembles the buzzard. Weakly pronounced eyebrows and a small head resemble a cuckoo. In flight against the light, primary flight feathers are visible on the dark silhouette of the bird, this feature makes it easy to recognize the flying honey buzzard. The flight resembles the movement of a crow. The common honey buzzard rarely soars. Glides in flight with slightly bent wings. The claws on the paws are blunt and short.

The body size of the female is larger than that of the male.

Birds also differ in the color of their plumage. The color of the feather cover of the male is gray above, the head is ash-gray. The plumage of the female is brown above, and the bottom is more striped than that of the male. Young honey beetles are distinguished by a strong variability in the color of feathers. Compared to adult birds, they have darker plumage and prominent wing stripes. Back with light spots. Tail with 4 rather than three stripes, they are less noticeable than in adults. Loins with a light stripe. The head is lighter than the body.

Wax is yellow. The iris is brown. The tail is shorter than that of adult honey buzzards.

Distribution of the common honey buzzard

The common honey buzzard is found in Europe and Western Asia. IN winter period migrates over considerable distances to southern and central Africa. In Italy, a common species nesting during migrations. Observed in the area of ​​the Strait of Messina.

Habitat of the common honey buzzard

The common honey buzzard lives in forests from hardwood and pines. Inhabits old eucalyptus forests alternating with clearings. It occurs on the edges and along wastelands, where there are no traces of human activity. It mainly chooses places with a weak development of grass cover. In the mountains it rises to a height of 1800 meters.

Nutrition of the common honey buzzard

The common honey buzzard feeds mainly on insects, preferring to destroy wasp nests and destroy their larvae. She catches wasps, both in the air, and extracting them with her beak and claws from a depth of up to 40 cm in depth. When a nest is found, the common honey buzzard rips it apart to extract the larvae and nymphs, but at the same time it also consumes adult insects.

To feed on poisonous wasps, the predator has an important adaptation:

• dense skin around the base of the beak and near the eyes, protected by short, hard scale-like feathers;
• narrow nostrils, which look like a slit and into which wasps, wax and soil do not penetrate.

In spring, when there are still few insects, birds of prey eat small rodents, eggs, young birds, and small reptiles. Small fruits are occasionally consumed.

Reproduction of the common honey buzzard

Common honey beetles return to their nesting places in the middle of spring, and begin to build a nest in the same place as in the previous year. At this moment, the male performs mating flights. It first rises on an inclined path, and then stops in the air and makes three or four flaps, raising the wings above the back. Then it repeats circular flights and strokes over the nest site and near the female.

A pair of birds builds a nest on a side branch of a large tree.

It is formed by dry and green branches with leaves that line the inside of the nest bowl. The female lays 1 - 4 white eggs with brownish spots. Laying takes place at the end of May, with two-day breaks. Incubation occurs from the first egg and lasts 33-35 days. Both birds incubate offspring. At the end of June - July, chicks appear. They do not leave the nest until 45 days, but even after fledging, the chicks move from branch to branch to neighboring trees, try to catch insects, but return back for food brought by adult birds.

During this period, the male and female feed offspring. The male brings wasps, and the female collects nymphs and larvae. Having caught a frog, the male removes its skin far from the nest and brings it to the female, who feeds the chicks. For two weeks, parents often bring food, but then young honey beetles themselves begin to produce larvae.

They become independent after about 55 days. The chicks make their first flights in late July or early August. Common honey beetles migrate at the end of summer and during September. In the southern regions, where birds of prey still find food, they migrate from the end of October. Common honey beetles fly either singly or in small flocks, often together with buzzards.

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Appearance. The wingspan is about a meter. The top is dark brown, the bottom is usually light or brown with brown transverse streaks, the throat is light. The wing is striped below, often with a dark spot on the fold, on the tail there are two dark stripes at the base and one at the end. Juveniles usually have a light head and spots on the back.
Frequent and high “ki-ki-kiik...”. Very silent bird, makes sounds very rarely.
Habitat. It lives in forests within the forest and forest-steppe zones.
Nutrition. It feeds mainly on hymenoptera and, in particular, wasps. Although honey beetles occasionally grab a young bird, mouse or frog, their structure and behavior are still closely related to feeding on stinging insects.
Nesting places. Prefers to nest in deciduous or mixed forests interspersed with open spaces.
Nest location. The nest is made by itself, but sometimes it occupies the buildings of crows, buzzards. The nest is located in the forest, more often near the edge or clearing, usually on the side branches of a tree near a fork, at a height of 10-20, sometimes 3-4 m from the ground. The same nest has been used for several years.
Nest building material. The building is constructed from branches, sometimes with an admixture of pine paws, bark and plant rags. There is no bedding in the nest, but it is usually lined with fresh green branches and leaves. This, apparently, is due to the fact that, unlike most other birds of prey, honey buzzard chicks defecate into the nest and, moreover, birds do not take out the remnants of food from the nest.
The shape and size of the nest. Nest diameter 590-600 mm, nest height 200-370 mm.
Masonry features. The clutch contains 2 eggs, less often 1. The eggs are round in shape with a dense, bright chestnut-colored pattern that almost covers the main background. Egg sizes: (47-53) x (38-43) mm.
Nesting times. Arrival occurs at the end of April - the first half of May. A nest with eggs appears in late May - early June, and downy chicks appear in early July. Departure begins in August, but continues into September.
Spreading. Distributed wherever there are forests: from North Karelia in the west to Tomsk in the east and to the Caucasus in the south. In southeastern Siberia - from Altai to the Amur region - there is a Siberian honey buzzard. There is no honey buzzard in the steppe areas and in Central Asia. In Western Europe, this predator is widespread, but not numerous.
Wintering. Winters in Africa and South Asia. Arrives late.

Description of Buturlin. Among our large predators, the honey buzzard occupies a special place. food it is served chiefly by hymenoptera, and especially by wasps. Honey beetles are nowhere numerous: feeding the family requires them to collect insects from large area; the nesting and feeding area of ​​each pair occupies over 5 square kilometers.
The claws of the honey buzzards are sharp, but slightly bent, which makes it easier for them to walk on the ground; the front part of the head (bridle) is densely feathered, which probably gives the bird a certain protection against stinging insects; plumage is very hard. Hunted honey buzzards on wasps, usually moving on the ground, although sometimes they look for insects on tree branches. Having found a nest of bumblebees or wasps, the bird begins to tear it off with its paws. She deftly grabs flying insects with her beak across the abdomen, and bites off the end of the abdomen along with the sting. Young, sitting in the nest, not yet able to cope with stinging insects, the female feeds food regurgitated from the goiter, but she apparently passes the larvae to them with her beak.
Dimensions honey buzzard looks like an ordinary buzzard, but its tail and wings are longer, so that these birds can be easily distinguished on the fly.
Honey buzzards are similar to buzzards and in diversity coloring: they are sometimes reddish, sometimes dark brown, sometimes brown, with a whitish underparts mottled to varying degrees with brown stripes. A good difference between the honey buzzard and the buzzard is the tail pattern - beautiful, as it were, “moiré”, with three dark stripes. The color of the eyes varies, as does the color of the plumage, from white to bright yellow. The legs are always yellow with black claws.
Appear we have honey beetles late (which is understandable, since the development of insect life is closely related to heat) - about mid-May or even later. Immediately after arrival, a couple of honey buzzards begin to repair and put in order their nest high up in a tree. Egg laying occurs in early June; incubation period is about a month. The chicks emerging from the egg are protected from the cold and the strong sun by the mother and the father alternately. Unlike other predators, both parents incubate for approximately the same amount of time each. The masonry consists of two variegated eggs. The chicks leave the nest when they reach the age of about 40 days.
On arrival and departure, honey beetles pull in flocks and groups of 20-40 birds. The honey buzzard flies silently. In general, this is one of the most silent birds of prey; few zoologists have been able to hear her voice. According to the stories, it resembles a frequent and high “ki-ki-kiik ...”.
In economic terms, the honey buzzard is indifferent. He deserves protection as an interesting and beautiful bird.

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Asaed are extraordinary

The whole territory of Belarus

Accipitridae family

Monotypic species, does not form subspecies.

Widespread, but not numerous. Common breeding, migratory and transient species. Due to its secretive lifestyle, it gives the impression of a rather rare bird. A common widespread species in the Poozerye.

Outwardly, it is very similar to the buzzard, differing in narrower wings, a longer tail, as well as three wide dark stripes across the tail. The color of the plumage of adult and young birds of both sexes is very variable: there are monochromatic brown individuals, and almost white ones with a brown back, and all variants of transitions between these extreme types. The feathers on the forehead and around the eyes of the honey buzzard are very hard, resembling scales (protection from the bites of stinging insects). The beak is black-gray, the cere is gray (in young it is yellow), the legs are yellow. Male weight 580-896 g, female 810-1105 g. Body length (both sexes) 58-62 cm, wingspan 115-135 cm.

He arrives late, before mid-April he did not register with us.

The honey buzzard usually flies low, its flight is easy, but rather slow. The voice is completely different from that of the buzzard, it sounds like “kii-e”.

Prefers mixed or deciduous forests, interspersed with open floodplains of rivers and streams, sparse areas of forest stands and low forests, clearings, old clearings, with wide clearings and clearings. Willingly settles near the edges of meadows and fields, but often in the depths of the forest.

It nests late in single pairs on tall trees, both coniferous (spruce, pine) and deciduous (oak, aspen, birch, in the south - hornbeam). From the first days of May until the start of laying, the birds are intensively mating in pairs. A characteristic element of the current is the flapping of the back sides of the wings raised vertically upwards behind the back. The bird performs this maneuver by stopping in the upper arcs of the “hills”. Males occasionally perform elements of courtship flight during the entire nesting period. Probably, in this case, the current flight of the male plays the role of marking the nesting territory. The minimum distance between adjacent breeding pairs is 700 meters.

The nest is arranged at different heights (12-20 m, rarely 3-4 m, most often 8-12 m), usually in the densest part of the crown. It builds it from twigs and branches, lays out the tray with thinner rods and abundantly lines it with leaves and green branches of aspen, oak, birch, sometimes spruce or pine. Often in the tray you can find empty wasp combs. The nest is sometimes used for a number of years, but as a rule, a new one is built annually in the selected nesting area and much less often they occupy the old, last year one. Nest height 30-65 cm, diameter 70-85 cm, tray depth 7-8 cm, diameter 21-25 cm. Sometimes it occupies buildings of other birds of prey.

In most cases, it lays 2 eggs, rarely - 1. The shell is dull, yellowish, sometimes bluish-white with spots, the shade of which varies from red to chestnut-brown. Usually the spots are very large and often merge, masking the background. Sometimes the intensity of spotting is different even in the same clutch. Egg weight 44 g, length 50 mm (45-54 mm), diameter 40 mm (35-43 mm).

The bird starts nesting relatively late - at the end of May or even (more often) in the first ten days or in the middle of June. The male and female incubate, alternately replacing each other, for 28-35 days. Later, both adult birds carry food to the chicks. At the age of 40-45 days young birds leave the nest. One brood per year.

Broods that have not broken up are found from the second half of August to the beginning of September. In late August - early September, birds begin to roam widely and at this time they often appear in parks, gardens, orchards of settlements, even such large ones as Vitebsk.

Autumn departure and passage is observed already in the first half of September.

The basis of nutrition of this species is the larvae and pupae of social hymenoptera - wasps, bumblebees, wild bees. The main way of hunting of the honey buzzard is to track the flight paths of its victims up to the place where the nest is hidden. The honey buzzard is able to sit motionless for hours on a tree branch, watching the flight of wasps or bumblebees; in the direction of flight, sooner or later he tracks down the nest of his victims. If a hornet's nest is built on a tree branch, the honey buzzard picks it up and selects the larvae, paying little attention to adult insects. If the nest is located in the ground, the honey buzzard digs it out, successfully raking the soil with its paws. Sometimes it catches adults of these insects, less often it eats plates of wasp nests. The family of the honey buzzard finds 4–6 nests of wasps every day. During the day, the chick eats about 100 g of food, which is almost 1000 insect larvae. For the entire period of feeding, he needs about 50 thousand larvae (about 5 kg). Eggs and chicks of small birds, frogs, lizards, orthoptera, fly larvae also diversify the “menu” of this bird.

Honey beetles are tolerant of the proximity of the nests of buzzards, goshawks, lesser spotted eagles, and black storks and sometimes settle 300–350 m from the nests of these species. But honey beetles (both chicks and adults) occasionally fall prey to the goshawk, which sometimes grabs them right on the nests. Young honey beetles leave nests not yet able to fly - they only flit a little. At this time, they often become victims of the goshawk.

The predatory activity of the marten, goshawk and human anxiety were noted as the reason for the unsuccessful nesting of honey beetles. Repeatedly it was necessary to meet honey beetles near human habitation, digging up nests of earthen wasps. Sometimes they were so fond of this occupation that they managed to cover them with a jacket. Compared to other raptors, honey beetles are very trusting of humans: in the last stage of incubation, the female sits so tightly on the masonry that sometimes, having risen to the nest, you have to push her off the masonry almost with your hands. The chicks are also very friendly.

The number of honey buzzards in Belarus is stable and is estimated at 8-11 thousand pairs. The number in Poozerye (2017) is estimated at 1500–1600 pairs. Here, shortly before departure, 1–2 fledglings were noted in broods, on average, 0.9 fledglings per each active nest. The breeding success in 30 broods traced to emergence was 60%.

Has the status of protection in Europe (SPEC 4). Threats: the greatest harm to the population of the honey buzzard in the Belarusian Poozerye is caused by felling trees with their nests during clear-cutting during the nesting period.

The maximum registered age in Europe is 29 years.

Body length 51-61 cm, wingspan 135-145 cm, body weight 675-901 g.

In flight, it differs from buzzards in its longer wings and tail. In addition, there are 3 wide stripes on the tail of the honey buzzard (this is what it unmistakably differs from both the buzzards and the pygmy eagle). Noteworthy is the unusual manner of holding the head during the flight. It is extended forward like a pigeon in the honey buzzard, and not retracted into the shoulders, like in buzzards. Plumage coloration varies greatly. The top is brown, the bottom is whitish, covered to varying degrees with dark spots.

honey buzzard - migrant. In the spring, it returns to central Russia at the very end of April or May, and disappears in the first half of September. It occurs in forests from the western borders to the Yenisei. In Eastern Siberia, from Baikal to Primorye and Sakhalin, there is a larger crested honey buzzard, which many ornithologists consider a separate, albeit very close species.

Paw print of a honey buzzard on soft ground

Most often, the honey buzzard can be seen in flight, but sometimes it happens to be frightened off from the ground. In the latter case, approaching the place from which the bird has just flown, you often find a ruined nest of earthen wasps. The honey buzzard is a highly specialized predator. It feeds mainly on larvae and pupae of social insects - wasps, hornets, bumblebees.

He also eats adult hymenoptera, and there is no consensus on how he does this. Previously, they wrote that the honey buzzard always bites off the end of the abdomen of stinging insects, now they write that it swallows them along with the sting. Apparently, the latter is true - near the nests ruined by honey buzzards, I never found torn off parts of insects.

The ways of hunting the honey buzzard are very different. He either looks for nests of social insects, watching from a perch for the flight of an axis of bumblebees, or looks for them, wandering the earth. Having found a nest, it descends near the mink and begins to dig. The moss and leaves covering the soil are captured by a paw in a handful and thrown back. The earth is also raked back with its paws, at a distance of up to 60 cm.

If strong roots more than 0.5 cm thick come across on the way to the nest and the honey buzzard cannot cut them off, it rakes the ground around them, leaving the roots hanging over the pit. Having reached the roof of the hornet's nest, which looks like rough paper, he breaks through it and pulls out the honeycombs through the hole formed.

During the period of feeding chicks, it takes the combs entirely to the nest, and at other times it carefully selects larvae from the cells, throwing empty combs near the open hole. Usually they are slightly damaged.

Sometimes near the plundered nest you can see honey buzzard droppings - a thick creamy white spot. In a homogeneous white mass, it is sometimes possible to distinguish half-digested wasp larvae. In addition to the honey buzzard, the nests of wasps and bumblebees are dug up by the badger, and it is not always easy to understand who in this case ruined the nest.

By the way, I note that if it is difficult for a honey buzzard to pick off even fairly thin roots, then a badger does it easily. A strong animal rakes the moss in large pieces, and not in small pieces, as the honey buzzard does. When digging the nest, usually at night, the animal crushes quite a lot of sleepy wasps, and they remain at the bottom of the pit.

In the nests excavated by the honey buzzard, there are usually no dead insects. And of course, near the nest destroyed by the badger, you will not see any white blots of bird droppings, or accidentally dropped feathers or fluff. The honey buzzard can also pull out honeycombs from wide hollows inhabited by hornets, and rob large wasp nests hanging on bushes.

In addition to social insects, the honey buzzard can eat grasshoppers, beetles and caterpillars. Sometimes he catches frogs, lizards, chicks of small birds. Due to the feeding habits, this predator rarely sheds pellets; they were sometimes found in its nest.

Despite the fact that the honey buzzard often descends to the ground and even roams it, its paw prints are rare. Its tracks resemble those of buzzards, but differ from them in longer, straight claws. The size of the print is about 9.8 x 5.8 cm, of which 2 cm are long claw back finger.

The length of the remaining claws is about 1 cm. The honey buzzard nests on various trees, placing the nest in the middle part of the crown, at a height of 5-15 m from the ground. The diameter of the nest is about 60 cm. There is almost no litter inside, but fresh branches with leaves are always present, especially during the period when the chicks begin to grow up (there are no more than two of them).

The chicks do not defecate outside, as do the chicks of many diurnal birds of prey, but on the edge of the nest. Adult birds, bringing green branches, cover sewage. In the nests of honey buzzards, fragments of wasp combs can always be found, and sometimes they can be found under the nests of these birds.