Includes Archer's Buzzard
- Buteo augur
Identification
Length 48–60 cm (19-23½ in)
Adult
- White belly and chest, speckled grey
- Dark slate-grey body
- Rufous tail feathers
- Yellow beak grey tipped
Immature:
- Upper parts brown with buff marking
- Brown-streaked white underparts
- Greyish tail below with light barring
- Full adult plumage is attained at about 18 months.
Variation
The subspecies archeri is described as having Chestnut underside but is somewhat variable.
Distribution
East Africa: Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, and eastern Zaire to Namibia and Zimbabwe.
Taxonomy
This species is closely related to Jackal Buzzard B. rufofuscus.
Subspecies
Two subspecies are recognized[4].
- B. a. augur:
- B. a. archeri:
- Highlands of northern Somalia
Habitat
Prefers mountainous and hilly habitats, but also found in open woodland, savanna and grassland.
Behaviour
Diet
Their diet consists mainly of lizards, snakes and small birds; small mammals and insects are also eaten.
Breeding
They build a large stick nest on a cliff or sometimes a tall tree. Two eggs are incubated mostly by the female for 39-45 days; the second egg hatches about a day after the first. The younger chick is usually killed by its sibling within a few days. The surviving chick fledges after about 30 days and the nestling period is about 50 days.
Gallery
Click on photo for larger image
Immature
Photo © by Fiscalshrike
Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, November 2011
References
- Gibbon, G. 2002. Roberts' Multimedia Birds of Southern Africa: Version 3. John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. www.sabirding.co.za
- Oregon Zoo Animals: Augur Buzzard
- Thread in the Taxonomy Forum discussing the relationships of Archer's Buzzard and Augur Buzzard
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2022. IOC World Bird List (v 12.2) DRAFT. Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.12.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved January 2017)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Augur Buzzard. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Augur_Buzzard
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
