Newsletter / Blog
2012-06-18 Italy - More than a hundred European Honey-buzzard’s slaughtered on May 3rd 2012.
A significant increase
in poaching in the Italian region of Calabria.
The increase in poaching this year is largely due to the drastic reduction (for
lack of funds) in the NOA’s staff (the anti-poaching operative task force of
the State’s Forestry Corps), by the authorities. This year, the NOA had only
three patrols covering a migratory season of 25 days.
European
Honey-buzzard
The European
Honey Buzzard - Pernis apivorus – is a species closely related to kites. It is a summer migrant to
most of Europe and western Asia, wintering in tropical Africa.
It is seen in a wide range of habitats, but generally prefers woodland and
exotic plantations.
Description
These raptors
have at least ten distinct colour morphs. The ‘typical’ adult bird is
grey-brown on the upperparts, with a grey crown and face, and a whitish throat
with dark streaks. The underbody is most often white or cream, or occasionally
pale rufous in colour, and usually has defined bars in cinnamon, rufous, brown
or black. Some individuals may be less heavily barred, and instead have
splotches, or spots, in black, brown, or rufous. The tail is usually greyish or
pale brown, with a creamy-white tip and contrasting dark bands. The male has a
blue-grey head, while the female's head is brown. The female is slightly larger
and darker than the male.
Food
It is a
specialist feeder, living mainly on the larvae and nests of wasps, bees and
hornets, although it will take small mammals, reptiles and birds. It is thought
that Honey Buzzards have a chemical deterrent in their feathers that protects
them from wasp attack.
Breeding
It breeds from
Scandinavia and western Siberia to the Mediterranean
in woodland and is inconspicuous except in the spring, when the mating display
includes wing-clapping. Breeding males are fiercely territorial. Breeding
occurs from mid-June onwards, and is timed to correspond with peaks in
abundance of bees and wasps. The nest built by the female. A clutch of between
one and three eggs are laid. The male and female take turns to incubate the
eggs for 30 to 35 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge at 40 to
44 days.
Conservation Status – Least concern
Not threatened,
although it is severely persecuted when it passes over the Mediterranean
in its migration.
Birdwatching
Ask Aves Birding Tours/Safaris/Adventures to
create a tour for you to see these raptors.
|