Black buzzards

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Black buzzards
Black Buzzard (Buteogallus urubitinga)

Black Buzzard ( Buteogallus urubitinga )

Systematics
Sub-stem : Vertebrates (vertebrata)
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Birds of prey (Accipitriformes)
Family : Hawk species (Accipitridae)
Subfamily : Buzzard-like (buteoninae)
Genre : Black buzzards
Scientific name
Buteogallus
Lesson , 1830

The black buzzards ( Buteogallus ) are a genus of birds of prey in the hawk-like family , subfamily buzzard-like . All species in this genus are mainly neotropical , i.e. native to Central and South America, but individual species are also found in the extreme southwest of the United States. Many species prefer large crustaceans as prey and search long stretches of beaches and river banks for such food, even on foot. Other species behave completely differently.

Most species have a characteristic drawing of the tail feathers. These have a black root region, as well as a wide, white band in the middle, a wide black band and then a narrow white band at the tip of the feathers, which is often difficult to see or is missing completely if the feathers are badly worn. Only the white-necked buzzard ( Buteogallus lacernulatus ) and the red-bellied buzzard ( Buteogallus aequinoctialis ) have completely different tail designs.

Systematics

The systematics of the buzzard-like in general is scientifically controversial. The following species are assigned to the black buzzards:

The hermit eagles (formerly Harpyhaliaetus ) are further inland relatives of the "dark" group of Buteogallus - phenotypically they are essentially robust black buzzards ( B. urubitinga ) with thinner plumage on the body and a small crest on the head of a certain species. These differences in anatomy appear to be due to the different type of prey these birds grab, namely reptiles . Together with the savannah buzzard, they seem to be close to some species that have been classified in the white buzzards ( Leucopternis ). Since this genus was apparently polyphyletic , this article follows a proposal to include both the hermit eagle and the shale buzzard ( "Leucopternis" schistaceus ) in Buteogallus in order to take into account findings from morphology and mtDNA sequencing , as well as the white - necked buzzard "Leucopternis" lacernulatus .

Systematists have long called for the slate buzzard to be integrated into Buteogallus . Together with the red-bellied buzzards and hermit eagles, they form a sequence of plumage patterns that fits well with a DNA-based phylogeny: the slate buzzard is very reminiscent of a smaller, short-legged and lighter black buzzard. However, the case of the white-necked buzzard creates more confusion. It is visually and ecologically almost identical to the sympatric jacketed buzzard ( Leucopternis polionotus ) and some allopatric white buzzards (e.g. L. albicollis ), but differs in the color of the tail. Judging by the mtDNA, it is very closely related to the savannah buzzard , which is visually different and looks like a very light buteogallus , which has an ocher-gray color due to the abundant pheomelanins . Either there was a strong convergent evolution in plumage and ecology between the white-necked and mantled buzzard - possibly a case of mimicry , or the mtDNA results are misleading because of hybrid introgression . In this regard, it is worth noting that a gene sample from the white-necked buzzard showed signs of heteroplasmia .

The classification of the strangely amorphous red-bellied buzzard has to be considered unclear in comparison with these other birds.

Fossils

Fossil of a Buteogallus fragilis

In the meantime, abundant fossil finds of Buteogallus have accumulated, with many species being erroneously assigned to other genera. The genus - like many buzzards today - may have followed other birds of prey during the Miocene and apparently never appeared outside of the American continent. A group of partly very large prehistoric species is known from the last ice age . In Cuba , a particularly huge species survived well into the Ice Age, but probably not until human settlement.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2017-3. In: Red List of Endangered Species . Retrieved April 13, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Mangrove Buzzard - Buteogallus subtilis (Thayer & Bangs, 1905). In: Avibase - the world bird database. Retrieved April 13, 2018 .
  3. ^ William S. Clark: Taxonomic status and distribution of Mangrove Black Hawk Buteogallus (anthracinus) subtilis . In: Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club . tape 127 , no. 2 , 2007, p. 110–117 (English, biodiversitylibrary.org ).
  4. ^ JV Remsen, Jr. et al .: A Classification of the Bird Species of South America. Version 2009-02-27. Most recent changes to the classification, updated November 16. (No longer available online.) American Ornithologists' Union, archived from the original on March 2, 2009 ; Retrieved July 18, 2012 .
  5. ↑ a b c F. S. Raposo do Amaral, MJ Miller, LF Silveira, E. Bermingham, A. Wajntal: Polyphyly of the hawk genera Leucopternis and Buteogallus (Aves, Accipitridae): multiple habitat shifts during the Neotropical buteonine diversification . In: BMC Evol. Biol. Band 6 , 2006, p. 10 , doi : 10.1186 / 1471-2148-6-10 , PMID 16464261 , PMC 1413559 (free full text) - (English).
  6. ↑ FS Raposo do Amaral, DH Sheldon, A. Gamauf: Patterns and processes of diversification in a widespread and ecologically diverse avian group, the buteonine hawks (Aves, Accipitridae) . In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . tape 53 , no. 3 , 2009, p. 703-715 , doi : 10.1016 / j.ympev.2009.07.020 , PMID 19635577 (English).
  7. ↑ RO Bierregaard Jr., GM Kirwan, DA Christie: White-necked Hawk (Buteogallus lacernulatus). In: Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, DA Christie, E. de Juana, 2018, accessed April 12, 2018 .

Web links

Commons : Buteogallus  - collection of images, videos and audio files