Alternative name: Crested Honey Buzzard
Includes: Sunda Honeybuzzard
- Pernis ptilorhynchus
Identification
52–68 cm (20½-26¾ in)
The male has a blue-grey head, while the female's head is brown. She is slightly larger and darker than the male. The male has a black tail with a white band, whilst the female resembles female European Honey Buzzard.
Similar Species
Not easy to distinguish from European Honey Buzzard, which overlap in the Middle East[1].
Distribution
Siberia east to Japan and south to India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and The Philippines. Northern populations are migratory
Taxonomy
Considered conspecific with European Honey Buzzard by some authors.
Reference [5] notes that differences in DNA and morphology support a split into 2 species: "Oriental Honeybuzzard" (strict sense), P. orientalis, with subspecies orientalis, philippensis and ruficollis; and "Sunda Honeybuzzard", P. ptilorhynchus with palawanensis, ptilorhynchus and torquatus. Some sources think this should be three species.
Subspecies
Clements recognises the following subspecies [1]:
- P. p. orientalis: "Northern Honeybuzzard". South Siberia to Mongolia and Japan; winters to Greater Sundas
- P. p. ruficollis: "Indomalayan Honeybuzzard". India and Sri Lanka to south west China, Myanmar and south-east Asia except the Malaysia Peninsula.
- P. p. philippensis: "Indomalayan Honeybuzzard". North and east Philippines
- P. p. palawanensis: "Sunda Honeybuzzard". South Philippines (Palawan and Calauit)
- P. p. torquatus: "Sunda Honeybuzzard". Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo
- P. p. ptilorhynchus: "Sunda Honeybuzzard" Java
Habitat
A variety of woodland, with a preference for broadleafed trees.
Behaviour
Diet
It is a specialist feeder, living mainly on the larvae and nests of wasps, although it will take other small prey.
References
- Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2023. IOC World Bird List (v 13.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.13.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Jan 2018)
- Birdforum thread discussing separating this species from Eurasian Honey Buzzard
- Eaton, JA, B van Balen, NW Brickle, FE Rheindt 2021. Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago (Greater Sundas and Wallacea), Second Edition. Lynx Editions. ISBN978-84-16728-44-2
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
