Jackal Buzzard
| Jackal Buzzard | ||||||||||||
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Jackal Buzzard in the Ithala Game Reserve in South Africa |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Buteo rufofuscus | ||||||||||||
| ( Forster , 1798) |
The Jackal Buzzard ( Buteo rufofuscus ) is a species of the genus buzzards and in South Africa in the south and south-west of Namibia , and in the extreme southwest of the Kalahari in Botswana ( Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park found), where he mountainous in the more northerly less Regions of its range occurs less often.
The name of the jackal buzzard comes from its reputation, which is reminiscent of that of the jackal .
description
The jackal buzzard is a medium-sized bird of prey, weighing a little over 1000 g in males to just under 1700 g in females and a wing length of up to 430 mm in male and over 460 mm in female birds.
Adult birds: Upper side, head and neck slate gray - blackish from a distance. The breast is dark red-brown to chestnut brown (very rarely black or white) and bordered at the top by an irregular white band. The belly is black and white pitted or brindle and the rump is solid red-brown to chestnut brown. In flight you can see the wings from below, dark slate gray to black with a wide, white band. The control springs are pale red-brown. The pupil is black, the iris black-brown.
Youth dress: brown on the top with yellow-brown markings, pale red-brown on the underside. Underside of the wings pale red-brown with white stripes, the rump is pale red-brown and the control feathers light gray with darker markings. The pupil and iris of the eyes of the young birds are black.
The legs are pale yellow in both juveniles and the adult jackal buzzard.
Habitat and way of life
The jackal buzzard prefers mountainous areas where it is relatively common. It is rarely found in the lowlands. It occurs in the Drakensberg up to the highest regions, also in the arid mountainous landscapes in south-western Namibia ( ǀAi-ǀAis / Richtersveld-Transfrontier-Park ). It occurs singly or in pairs.
The jackal buzzard is mostly seen in flight when it sails over valleys and along mountain slopes. He is often confused with the juggler ( Terathopius ecaudatus ), although this is much larger and has a shorter tail. On the other hand, it is difficult to spot when it is enthroned on high rocks at a suitable distance. Occasionally, however, you can see him on telegraph poles along the streets or watch him plummet when he acrobatically chases under bridges at high speed.
The jackal buzzard feeds on small mammals up to the size of rock snakes and birds up to the size of frankolines , as well as reptiles - including poisonous snakes such as puff adders and insects , as well as fallen game on streets and carrion.
Reproduction
The breeding season is between May and October; the main breeding season is in August and September. The nest consists of bulky piles of small branches and is 60 to 70 cm in diameter and up to 35 cm deep. The inside of the nest is padded with leaves and has a diameter of about 20 cm. The nest is usually built in rock niches, but also in trees, preferably in pines. One to three (usually two) chalky white red-brown spotted eggs are laid. The incubation period is about 40 days; the clutch is incubated by both partners. The nesting time is 50–53 days. The larger chicks sometimes kill the smaller siblings.
Internal system
The taxonomy of this species is controversial, as some scientists consider the jackal buzzard , the archeri buzzard ( Buteo archeri ) and the rock buzzard ( = augur buzzard, Buteo augur ) to be subspecies of the same species, although they inhabit different habitats and also in terms of their voices and plumage show significant differences.
supporting documents
literature
- James Ferguson-Lees , David A Christie: Raptors of the World. Houghton Mifflin, Boston 2001, ISBN 0-618-12762-3 .
- Josep Antoni Alcover: Les Aus fòssils de la Cova de Ca Na Reia. In: Endins. 14-15, 1989, pp. 95-100. (Catalan)
- Einhard Bezzel: birds. BLV Verlagsgesellschaft, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-405-14736-0 .
- L. Svensson, PJ Grant, K. Mularney, D. Zetterström: The new cosmos bird guide. Franckh-Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-440-07720-9 .
- A. Roberts, PAR Hockey, WRJ Dean, P. Ryan: Roberts Birds of Southern Africa. The John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, 2005, ISBN 0-620-34053-3 .
- Ian Sinclair, Phil Hockey, Warwick Tarboton: Sasol Birds of Southern Africa. Struik, Cape Town 2002, ISBN 1-86872-721-1 .
Web links
- Jackal Buzzard - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds (PDF; 276 kB)
- Buteo rufofuscus inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
Single receipts
- ^ A b A. Roberts, PAR Hockey, WRJ Dean, P. Ryan: Roberts Birds of Southern Africa. The John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, 2005, ISBN 0-620-34053-3 .
- ^ RK Brooke In: Bull. Brit. Orn. Club. 95, 1975, pp. 152-154.
- ↑ C. Norgarb, J. Lasbrey In: Ostrich. the journal of the South African Ornithological Society. 24, 1953, pp. 33-36.