BTO BirdFacts - Honey Buzzard


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Honey Buzzard Pernis apivorus [Linnaeus, 1758]


	Order: Accipitriformes	Family: Accipitridae
	BTO Codes: HZ, HONBU	EURING No: 2310
	Number in Britain: 51 pairs (Summer)
	Conservation Status:
	UK: AMBER
	European: Not a species of concern
	Global: Least Concern
Links to: Images Videos Sound

Status in UK: (A) Migrant Breeder, Passage Visitor
Subspecies: Monotypic
.
Length: 56 cm	Wingspan: 142 cm	Weight: M/F: 730 g

Scientific name from:	Gr.: pernes=a type of hawk and L.: apis=a bee + -vorare=to devour
World Distribution:	BREEDS: Europe & c Asia, WINTERS: s Europe to s Africa

Habitat:	Open wood and forest edge
Diet:	Mostly bees and wasps (Hymenoptera), also other insects, small vertebrates
TitBit:	Not only is it not a buzzard, it doesn’t feed on honey, rather it spends large amounts of time on the woodland floor excavating wasp nests to feed on the grubs, the head feathers are scale-like to provide some protection against stings

Population and Distribution

	Population Trend:	No population trend available
	Distribution:	No distribution maps available

British Population Size:

Summer: 33 to 69 pairs in 2000 Batten, L.A. (2001) British Birds 94:143-144

First Record: 1675

Latest Survey: Batten, L.A. (2001) British Birds 94:143-144

Conservation Status: AMBER because Small Breeding Population, Eaton, M.A. et al. 2009. British Birds 102:296-341

Previous Assessments: 2002-2007 AMBER Gregory, R.D. et al. 2002. British Birds 95:410-448

1996-2001 AMBER Gibbons, D.W. et al. 1996. RSPB Conservation Review 10:7-18

Races of Concern:

Habitat Occupancy (in the Breeding Season):

No habitat data from BBS

European Population Size:

Summer: 50 to 80 thousand pairs Bufield, I. & Van Bommel, F. (2004) Birds in Europe. Birdlife International, Cambridge.

Population Assesment from Birds in Europe

Distribution in Europe

Listed on the Appendices/Schedules of: WCA(I,IV), WBD(I), Bern(III), Bonn(II), CITES(II)

Survey Results:


Breeding and Survival

Egg Size: 52 x 41 mm	Egg Weight: 49.0 g (of which 7 % is shell)

Number of Nest Records: 6
Clutch Size: 2 eggs

Incubation: 30- 35 days		by the: Female (occ. Male)
Fledging: 40 - 44days		as: Altricial, downy

First Clutches Laid: Unavailable
Number of Broods: 1

Number Ringed: 7
Adult Survival: 0.860 ± 0.013
Juvenile Survival: 0.419 (to age 2 )

Age at First Breeding:	Typical Lifespan: No data
Maximum Recorded Age: 6yr 0m (Germany: 29yr 0m)


Other Names
European Honey-buzzard


Gaelic: Clamhan-riabhach	Welsh: Bod y Mêl
Danish: Hvepsevåge	Dutch: Wespendief
Finnish: Mehiläishaukka	French: Bondrée apivore
German: Wespenbussard	Hungarian: Darázsölyv
Icelandic: Býþjór	Irish: Clamhán Riabhach
Italian: Falco pecchiaiolo	Norwegian: Vepsevåk
Polish: Trzmielojad zwyczajny	Portuguese: Falão-abelheiro
Spanish: Abejero	Swedish: Bivråk

Local Names: Bee Hawk

For More Information...

Books and Monographs:

Kostrzewa, A. 1998 BWP Update 2:107-120

See Also:

Wikipedia entry

State of the Nations Birds by Chris Mead

Recent sightings and information from BirdGuides.com

Selected scientific papers published 1980-2005

Find more papers on Google Scholar

Find more papers on Scirus


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These data should be cited as: Robinson, R.A. (2005) BirdFacts: profiles of birds occurring in Britain & Ireland (v1.24, June 2009). BTO Research Report 407, BTO, Thetford (http://www.bto.org/birdfacts)		© British Trust for Ornithology, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 2PU, UK. Terms and Conditions \| Privacy Statement Registered Charity Number 216652.
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