European honey-buzzard

European Honey-buzzard
Scientific classification
Kingdom Information
Domain	Eukaryota
Kingdom	Animalia
Subkingdom	Bilateria
Branch	Deuterostomia
Phylum Information
Phylum	Chordata
Sub-phylum	Vertebrata
Infraphylum	Gnathostomata
Class Information
Superclass	Tetrapoda
Class	Aves
Sub-class	Neornithes
Infra-class	Neoaves
Order Information
Order	Accipitriformes
Sub-order	Accipitres
Family Information
Superfamily	Accipitroidea
Family	Accipitridae
Sub-family	Perninae
Genus Information
Genus	Pernis
Species Information
Species	P. apivorus
Population statistics
Population	280,000-420,000 (2016 est.)
Conservation status	Least concern

The European honey-buzzard or pern (Pernis apivorus) is a species of bird of prey of the family Accipitridae, and found throughout much of Europe and western Asia.

Description

The European honey-buzzard is medium-sized, about 20 to 24 inches in length, a wingspan of 53 to 59 inches, and weigh from 18.3 to 37 ounces. Females are larger than males. The sides of the face are blue-gray in males, brown in females. The upper parts are generally a dark gray, while chest and belly are whitish to light tan, with darker horizontal bands or streaks. The underwing coverts bear a dark patch at the terminus, while the ends of the primaries and secondaries bear a dark tip, giving the appearance of a single dark band at the trailing edge of the wings. The end of the tail also has a single dark band.

Range and habitat

The European honey-buzzard is widespread in Europe (except northern Scandinavia, Ireland and Iceland) and much of Russia, the former constituting more than 75% of its total nesting area. It is a migratory bird, staying in Europe during the summer months, and in Africa south of the Sahara during the winter. Departure to Africa is usually around September, and return to Europe in April or May. While migrating, they often fly in large numbers, not in real flocks, but rather in continuous flows, which follow very specific itineraries: along the shores of the lakes, for example. They cross the Mediterranean in Gibraltar, the Strait of Messina, the Bosphorus, or at other points where the crossing of the sea is as short as possible, swarming in the crossing when the weather conditions are favorable.

In Europe it usually nests in wooded areas, preferentially in mature forests with clearings and sparse undergrowth. It can also be seen in the human-altered countrysides and near human habitations.

Diet

The European honey-buzzard in the breeding area feeds predominantly on insects and larvae of social Hymenoptera. It is a perch hunter, sitting below the treetop in loosened forests, forest edges and similar, open structures, looking for flying wasps that disappear near the ground. When they are found the nests are dug up and the broken combs are transported piece by piece to the nest with larvae inside until all combs are exploited. During digging, the bird closes its eyes, while the feathers, which are very dense especially on the head, protect the bird from being stung.

In addition to wasp nests, the birds prey on the nests of bumblebees, honey bees, and hornets. Small vertebrates play an important role, especially in wasp-poor summers, most commonly various species of frogs; other insects, small reptiles, and rarely, small mammals such as mice. They have been observed on carrion, but rather than feeding on that, the preference instead was to fly maggots within the carcass. In late summer, fruits are consumed, especially plums, cherries and berries.

Breeding

The breeding season takes place between April and June, thus coinciding with the period of greater abundance of bee and wasp larvae, the main food of the nestlings. The European honey-buzzard tends to return to the same nesting sites every year, beginning with a courtship flight which occurs by plummeting down and rising several times.

It generally builds a new nest, but it can also reuse the nests of other birds, adding fresh branches to the lining. The nest is usually built on a tree, on a side branch some 30-60 feet above the ground; it consists of small branches and twigs that still bear leaves. The construction of the nest is essentially carried out by the female, who completes this work in 10-15 days.

The female lays one, and up to three eggs, brown overall with splotches in reddish to blackish brown, and laid at an interval of 3-5 days; incubation begins after the first egg is laid. Male and female incubate the eggs for 30-35 days, with the female predominate.

There is no rivalry within the brood, i.e. one chick does not kill the other, and disputes over nourishment are rare. During the first 7-10 days, it is almost exclusively the female that takes care of the young. The male continually searches for food, bringing fragments of combs containing insect larvae, which the female will shatter with its beak to extract the larvae and feed the chicks. From the 18th day after hatching the young are strong enough to extract the larvae themselves. Other prey is often reduced to small pieces before being brought to the nest. The male deals very often with the young even when the female is present. It has been observed that if the female dies, the male is able to carry on the breeding of the small ones alone.

The juveniles are fledged after 35-45 days; however they remain for some time near the nest, where the parents continue to feed them until they are about 55 days old. They become completely independent around 75-100 days, and reach sexual maturity around 3 years of age. The record of longevity, recorded by a specimen ringed in Germany and found dead due to natural causes, is 29 years.

Threats

The IUCN has classified this species as least Concern, as it occupies is very large range, and has an estimated total population of up to half a million birds. Locally, it is considered vulnerable in Italy, Switzerland and Portugal, and close to threatened in Sweden and Norway.

The honey buzzard suffers the hunting pressure, particularly during migrations. It is also threatened by habitat degradation and a decrease in the number of its prey due to pesticide use, and illegal poaching.