Forest buzzard
Forest buzzard | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Accipitriformes |
Family: | Accipitridae |
Genus: | Buteo |
Species: | B. trizonatus
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Binomial name | |
Buteo trizonatus Rudebeck, 1957
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The forest buzzard (Buteo trizonatus), is a species of bird of prey found in Africa, though some authorities have placed it as a subspecies of another species, the mountain buzzard, Buto oreophilus. This is a resident breeding species in woodlands in southern and eastern South Africa.
Description
The forest buzzard is very similar to the abundant summer migrant
Distribution and movements
The forest buzzard is
It as, at least, a partial migrant and seems to be a winter visitor (June–August) in the Drakensberg of Eastern Cape northwards where there are no breeding records. Two birds ringed in the east (Kwazulu-Natal and Mpumalanga) were subsequently recovered in the south of South Africa having moved between 800–1,300 km (500–810 mi).[3]
Habitat
The forest buzzard, as its name implies, inhabits evergreen woodlands, including introduced eucalyptus and pines, whereas the steppe buzzard prefers more open habitats. However, habitat alone is not a good indicator for these species.[4]
Habits
The forest buzzard hunts along the edge of or in the forest, where it is a sit and wait predator which pounces on prey from a perch. It has been recorded as preying on small mammals, birds up to the size of a turaco or a francolin, snakes, lizards, frogs, grasshoppers, wasps, beetles and scorpions.[4]
Its breeding biology is little known but it is thought to be territorial and monogamous. The nest is a large structure of sticks with an interior cup, lined with green leaves and sometimes with beard lichen Usnea spp. It is typically situated in the fork or lower branch of a tree in the forest interior, especially pines or eucalyptus but also indigenous trees such as small-leaved yellowwood (Afrocarpus falcatus). The two eggs are laid in the period from August–November, with most being laid in September–October. The eggs are laid asynchronously so the first laid hatches first and the older sibling is aggressive to its younger chick, preventing it from having food and if food is scarce the younger one will starve. They fledge at about 47 days old and become fully independent roughly four months.[3][4]
Taxonomy
The forest buzzard forms part of a
Conservation status
The forest buzzard was formerly considered threatened in South Africa but the increase in exotic plantations and the species adaptation to breed in those plantations has allowed the population to increase.[3] It is therefore treated as Near Threatened by the IUCN[1]
References
- ^ . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- ^ doi:10.2989/ostrich.2007.78.1.16.60. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2021-08-31. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7136-8026-3.
- ^ a b c d "Buteo trizonatus (Forest buzzard)". Biodiversity Explorer. Iziko Museums of South Africa. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
- ^ "Mountain Buzzard Buteo oreophilus". The Peregrine Fund. Archived from the original on 27 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2011. The Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.6. Downloaded from https://web.archive.org/web/20100821172048/http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist