The European honey buzzard (''Pernis apivorus''), also known as the pern or common pern,
[ is a ]bird of prey
Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predat ...
in the family Accipitridae
The Accipitridae is one of the three families within the order Accipitriformes, and is a family of small to large birds with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-s ...
.
Etymology
Despite its English name, this species is more closely related to kites of the genera '' Leptodon'' and ''Chondrohierax
''Chondrohierax'' is a genus of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. Its two members, the hook-billed kite (''C. uncinatus'') and the Cuban kite (''C. wilsonii''), are often considered to be conspecific. The hook-billed kite is widespread ...
'' than to true buzzards in ''Buteo
''Buteo'' is a genus of medium to fairly large, wide-ranging raptors with a robust body and broad wings. In the Old World, members of this genus are called "buzzards", but " hawk" is used in the New World (Etymology: ''Buteo'' is the Latin na ...
''. The binomen
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
is derived from Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...
''pernes'' περνης, a term used by Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...
for a bird of prey, and Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
''apivorus'' "bee-eating", from ''apis'', "bee
Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfami ...
" and ''-vorus'', "-eating". In fact, bees are much less important than wasps in the birds' diet. Note that it is accordingly called ("wasp buzzard") in German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
and similarly in some other Germanic languages and also in Hungarian ("darázsölyv").
Description
file:Pernis apivorus i080515 w ad 080519.jpg, Scale-like feathers around the eyes and forehead provide armour against the stings of its prey species.[Ferguson-Lees, J.; Christie, D.A. (2001) Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London.]
file:Beine Wespenbussard-.jpg, The relatively straight claws facilitate digging and walking.[
file:Pernis apivorus, onvolwassene, Unguana, Birding Weto, a.jpg, Immature birds have a dull iris and yellow cere.
The -long honey buzzard is larger and longer winged, with a wingspan, when compared to the smaller ]common buzzard
The common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') is a medium-to-large bird of prey which has a large range. A member of the genus '' Buteo'', it is a member of the family Accipitridae. The species lives in most of Europe and extends its breeding range acr ...
(''Buteo buteo''). It appears longer necked with a small head, and soars on flat wings. It has a longer tail, which has fewer bars than the ''Buteo'' buzzard, usually with two narrow dark bars and a broad dark subterminal bar. The sexes can be distinguished on plumage, which is unusual for a large bird of prey. The male has a blue-grey head, while the female's head is brown. The female is slightly larger and darker than the male.
The soaring jizz is quite diagnostic; the wings are held straight with the wing tips horizontal or sometimes slightly pointed down. The head protrudes forwards with a slight kink downwards and sometimes a very angular chest can be seen, similar to a sparrowhawk, although this may not be diagnostic. The angular chest is most pronounced when seen in direct flight with tail narrowed. The call is a clear ''peee-lu''.
Distribution and habitat
The European honey buzzard is a summer migrant to a relatively small area in the western Palearctic
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa.
The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sib ...
from most of Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
to as far east as southwestern Siberia. The eastern area boundary is not yet known exactly, it is thought to be in the Tomsk–Novosibirsk–Barnaul area. It is seen in a wide range of habitats, but generally prefers woodland and exotic plantations. It migrates to tropical Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
for European winters.
Movements
Being a long-distance migrant, the honey buzzard relies on magnetic orientation to find its way south, as well as a visual memory of remarkable geographical features such as mountain ranges and rivers, along the way. It avoids large expanses of water over which it cannot soar. Accordingly, great numbers of honey buzzards can be seen crossing the Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
over its narrowest stretches, such as the Gibraltar Strait, the Messina Strait, the Bosphorus
The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...
, Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...
, or in Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.[
]
Status in Britain
The bird is an uncommon breeder in, and a scarce though increasing migrant to, Britain. Its most well-known summer population is in the New Forest
The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, fea ...
(Hampshire) but it is also found in the Tyne Valley (Northumberland), Wareham Forest
Wareham Forest is an area of countryside in Dorset, England, consisting of open heathland, including Decoy Heath and Gore Heath, and plantations of conifers such as Morden Heath and Bloxworth Heath. The site is managed by Forestry England fo ...
(Dorset), Swanton Novers
Swanton Novers is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is west-south-west of Cromer, north-north-west of Norwich and north-north-east of London. The village lies south-west of the town of Holt. The near ...
Great Wood (Norfolk), the Neath Valleys (South Wales), the Clumber Park area (Nottinghamshire), near Wykeham Forest
Wykeham Forest is a woodland in the North York Moors National Park, near to Wykeham, west of Scarborough, England. The wood is a mixture of conifer and broadleaf trees, with some open ground and a Forestry Commission nursery. The wood was pl ...
(North Yorkshire), Haldon Forest Park (Devon) and elsewhere.
Mimicry
The similarity in plumage between juvenile European honey buzzard and common buzzard may have arisen as a partial protection against predation by northern goshawk
The northern goshawk (; ''Accipiter gentilis'') is a species of medium-large raptor in the family Accipitridae, a family which also includes other extant diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards and harriers. As a species in the genus '' Acci ...
s. Although that formidable predator is capable of killing both species, it is likely to be more cautious about attacking the better protected ''Buteo'' species, with its stronger bill and talons. Similar Batesian mimicry
Batesian mimicry is a form of mimicry where a harmless species has evolved to imitate the warning signals of a harmful species directed at a predator of them both. It is named after the English naturalist Henry Walter Bates, after his work on ...
is shown by the Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
n ''Pernis'' species, which resemble the ''Spizaetus'' hawk-eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
s.[
]
Behaviour
It is sometimes seen soaring in thermals
A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example ...
. When flying in wooded vegetation, honey buzzards usually fly quite low and perch in midcanopy, holding the body relatively horizontal with its tail drooping. The bird also hops from branch to branch, each time flapping its wings once, and so emitting a loud clap. The bird often appears restless with much ruffling of the wings and shifting around on its perch. The honey buzzard often inspects possible locations of food from its perch, cocking its head this way and that to get a good look at possible food locations. This behaviour is reminiscent of an inquisitive parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoide ...
.
Breeding
The honey buzzard breeds in woodland
A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...
, and is inconspicuous except in the spring, when the mating display includes wing-clapping. Breeding males are fiercely territorial. The clutch typically consists of two eggs, less often one or three. Siblicide is rarely observed.
Feeding
It is a specialist feeder, living mainly on the larvae and nests of wasp
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...
s and hornets, although it will take small mammals, reptiles, and birds. It is the only known predator of the Asian hornet.[ It spends large amounts of time on the forest floor excavating wasp nests. It is equipped with long toes and claws adapted to raking and digging, and scale-like feathering on its head, thought to be a defence against the stings of its prey.][ Honey buzzards are thought to have a chemical deterrent in their feathers that protects them from wasp attacks.]
In culture
The honey buzzard was historically considered a winter delicacy in Europe, with 19th century texts stating it was frequently caught in winter and described as “fat and delicious eating”.
References
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External links
(European) honey buzzard species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
Ageing and sexing (PDF; 5.4 MB) by Javier Blasco Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze
a
Oiseaux.net
Identification, calls, movements.
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European honey buzzard
Birds of prey of Africa
Birds of prey of Eurasia
European honey buzzard
European honey buzzard
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