Africa Wild Bird Book

[Pumbaa]

153. Augur Buzzard Buteo augur (Witborsjakkalsvoël )
Order: Accipitriformes. Family: Accipitridae


Tarangire, Tanzania 2003

Description
Length 55-60 cm. Stocky, red-tailed buzzard, with two distinct colour morphs. The adult Augur Buzzard is strikingly plumaged. It is almost black above with a rufous tail. The primary flight feathers are blackish and the secondaries off-white, both barred with black. Below the chin and around the throat is mainly white, and the rest of the underparts and the underwing coverts are rich rufous. The flight feathers from below are white, tipped with black to form a dark trailing edge to the wing. Yellow beak grey tipped.
There is a melanistic form of Augur Buzzard, all black, except for grey and black-barred flight feathers and a chestnut tail. About 10% of birds are melanistic, but the proportion rises in forested areas with high rainfall to as much as 50% in some areas.
The female has black on the lower throat. The juvenile is mainly brown above with buff markings and below white with brown streaks; tail greyish below with light barring. Full adult plumage is attained at about 18 months. It can be confused with wintering Steppe Buzzard, but has broader wings and an unbarred undertail.
Similar species: This species is similar in shape and overall structure to Jackal Buzzard but differs in having a white throat, breast and belly, and white wing linings.

Distribution
Occurs in a band from Eritrea and Ethiopia, to Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe and central Mozambique.

Habitat
It generally favours mountainous or hilly areas with rock outcrops, especially with woodland, savanna, scrub or montane grassland.

Movements and migrations
Resident, although juveniles disperse from their parents' territory once they become fully independent.

Diet
It mainly eats reptiles, supplemented with mammals and birds, doing most of its hunting from a perch or from the air, swooping to the ground before grabbing its prey.

Breeding
Usually a monogamous, territorial solitary nester, although both polyandry (two males mating with one female) and polygyny (one male mating with two females) have been recorded. In a courtship display the male repeatedly dives at a perched female, or alternatively they may dive synchronously before locking their talons. Egg-laying season is from July-November, peaking from August-October. It almost invariably lays two eggs, 2-4 days apart, which are incubated by both sexes for about 39-40 days. The older chick starts to attack its younger sibling as soon as it starts moving; the younger chick is usually dead by the time it reaches 5-8 days old. The remaining chick is closely brooded by the female up to ten days after hatching, while the male delivers food to both of them. The chick leaves the nest after about 50-60 days old, becoming fully independent after another 14-30 days or so.

Call
It calls a repeated barking k'wenk k'wenk k'wenk k'wenk..., usually in flight.

Status
Common resident.

[nan]

153. Augur Buzzard Buteo augur

© nan
Ngorongoro, Tanzania 2003

© Dewi
Namibia

Links:
Sabap2: http://sabap2.adu.org.za/spp_summary.ph ... &section=3
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds: http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/153.pdf
Global Raptor Information Network
Oiseaux net: http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-augur-buzzard.html
Alan Kemp, Meg Kemp. Sasol Birds of Prey of Africa and Its Islands

[Toko]

152. Jackal Buzzard Buteo rufofuscus (Rooiborsjakkalsvoël)
Order: Accipitriformes. Family: Accipitridae


Namaqua National Park

Description
Length 44-55 cm, weight 0.9-1.7 kg. Females larger than males. The wings are broad and the tail short. Distinct rufous chest and tail feathers; white-and-black underwings; black-and-white barred belly.
Adult: Black above with a chestnut tail. The chin and throat are black and the breast is rich rufous, bordered by white feathers. The underwing coverts are black and the flight feathers from below are white (white barred black from above), tipped with black to form a dark trailing edge to the wing. White-breasted morphs occur, and sometimes the entire underparts are white. Dark morphs with underparts that are mostly black have also been observed, but are rare.
Jackal Buzzards with white breasts (found mainly in the northwest of the range) can be distinguished from Augur Buzzard by their black, not white, underwing coverts.
Juvenile: Mainly brown above and rufous brown below and on the tail. Juvenile is easily mistaken for Steppe Buzzard but has larger broader wings and a pale, unbarred undertail.

Distribution
Endemic to southern Africa, occurring from western and southern Namibia and south-western Botswana to South Africa.

IMG]http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj4 ... 3d36fa.jpg[/IMG]

Habitat
It generally prefers hilly or and mountainous areas with Karoo, fynbos, grassland, open woodland or semi-desert. It is often found in habitats with short vegetation, so it can be found in mountain ranges up to 3000 metres above sea level, an elevation which few other raptors occur.

Diet
It mainly eats mammals, supplemented with birds and lizards, doing most of its hunting from high up in the air or from a perch. Once its spots something, it stoops to the ground to catch its prey, or alternatively it can intercept birds aerially. It also scavenges at carcasses, especially in Winter when food is scarce.

Breeding
Usually a monogamous, territorial solitary nester, although it has been recorded to be polyandrous in the Lesotho highlands. In this area, one female may mate with two males, who both of whom provide food for her and defend the territory from intruders. The nest is built by both sexes, starting up to three months before egg-laying. The structure consists of a platform of thin branches, with a cup lined with grass, leaves and lichen. It is typically placed on a ledge halfway up a cliff, although it may also use the major fork of a tree. Egg-laying season is from June-February, peaking from July-September. It lays 1-3, usually 2 creamy or bluish white eggs, which are mainly incubated by the female for about 39-40 days, while the male feeds her regularly at the nest. The chicks are cared for closely by the female for the first two weeks of their lives, while the male provides all the food. Thereafter, the female joins the male out hunting. The older chick viciously attacks its younger sibling, who inevitably dies before the end of the nestling period. The remaining chick leaves the nest at about 50-53 days old, becoming fully independent a few weeks later.

Call
A weeah ka-ka-ka call like that of Black-backed Jackal. Male's call higher-pitched than female's. Listen to Bird Call

Status
Endemic. Locally common resident.

[Toko]

152. Jackal Buzzard Buteo rufofuscus (Rooiborsjakkalsvoël)

© Sharifa

© Michele Nel

© Duke
iMfolozi, KwaZulu-Natal

© Mel
Juvenile

© Mel
Juvenile

© nan
Subadult


Link:
Sabap2
Global Raptor Information Network

[Toko]

ORDER FALCONIFORMES
Traditionally, all the raptors are grouped into four families in this single order. However, it has become common to split the order into two: the falcons and caracaras remain in the order Falconiformes (about 60 species in 4 groups), and the remaining 220-odd species (including the Accipitridae – eagles, hawks, and many others) are put in the separate order Accipitriformes.
The family has a cosmopolitan distribution across the world. Some species have exceptionally wide ranges, particularly the cosmopolitan Peregrine Falcon, which ranges from Greenland to Fiji and has the widest natural breeding distribution of any bird. Most habitat types are occupied, from tundra to rainforest and deserts, although they are generally more birds of open country and even forest species tend to prefer broken forest and forest edges. Some species, mostly in the genus Falco, are fully migratory, with some species summering in Eurasia and wintering entirely in Africa, other species may be partly migratory. The Amur Falcon has one of the longest migrations, moving from East Asia to southern Africa.
Falcons and caracaras are carnivores, feeding on birds, small mammals, reptiles, insects and carrion.
The falcons and caracaras are generally solitary breeders. They are monogamous. Nests are generally not built, but are co opted from other birds, for example Pygmy Falcons nest in the nests of weavers, or on the ledges on cliffs. Around 2-4 eggs are laid, and mostly incubated by the female. Incubation times vary from species to species and are correlated with body size, lasting 28 days in smaller species and up to 35 days in larger species. Chicks fledge after 28–49 days, again varying with size.

[Toko]

Species indigenous to southern Africa:

ORDER FALCONIFORMES
Family Falconidae (Falcons)
Falco peregrinus Peregrine Falcon 171
Falco biarmicus Lanner Falcon 172
Falco subbuteo Eurasian Hobby 173
Falco cuvierii African Hobby 174
Falco concolor Sooty Falcon 175
Falco fasciinucha Taita Falcon 176
Falco eleonorae Eleonora's Falcon 177
Falco chicquera Red-necked Falcon 178
Falco vespertinus Red-footed Falcon 179
Falco amurensis Amur Falcon 180
Falco rupicolus Rock Kestrel 181
Falco rupicoloides Greater Kestrel 182
Falco naumanni Lesser Kestrel 183
Falco ardosiaceus Grey Kestrel 184
Falco dickinsoni Dickinson's Kestrel 185
Polihierax semitorquatus Pygmy Falcon 186

[Lisbeth]

186. Pygmy Falcon Polihierax semitorquatus (Akkedisvalk)
Order: Falconiformes. Family: Falconidae



Description
A tiny raptor, length 19-20 cm. Most often, the side of head is white all around the red eye, more rarely with a dark stripe through the eye or with the grey cap reaching lower down. Rump is white, and in flight, the entire underside looks white. Wings and tail with white spots in flight. Red legs.
Female has a chestnut back, male has a plain grey back.
The immature is mostly like female, but duller.

Distribution
There are two separate populations in sub-Saharan Africa, one extending from Somalia through Ethiopia and Kenya to southern Sudan and Tanzania and the other in Angola and southern Africa in Namibia, south-western Botswana and the Northern Cape. Here it's distribution is strongly linked to that of the Sociable weaver, as it is uses their communal nests for roosting and nesting (the northerly population has a similar relationship with buffalo-weavers).



Habitat
Open, arid habitats such as desert, dry savanna and open grassland with scattered Camel thorns.

Diet
It mainly eats reptiles, insects and occasionally rodents, doing most of it's hunting from a high perch, gliding down to the ground and pouncing on its prey. It also hawks small birds aerially and raids the Sociable weaver colonies it nests in, taking both adults and chicks.

Breeding
Usually monogamous and territorial, although multiple breeding pairs may occupy a single colony of weavers. It usually uses a chamber of a large social weaver communal structure as a nest, either the Sociable weaver or the Red-billed bufallo-weaver. About a quarter of all Sociable weaver nests have about 3-4 chambers which are allocated to the falcons for roosting and nesting. It may also use a stand-alone nest of non-communal bird, such as a White-browed sparrow-weaver, Cape glossy or Wattled starling. Egg-laying season is from August-March, peaking from October-November. It lays 1-4 eggs, which are mainly incubated by the female for about 27-31 days, while the male provides her with food. The chicks are mainly fed by the female, although after fledging both parents provision them food. The young return to the nest regularly after fledging, making the nestling period difficult to determine; it is though to be about 27-40 days.

Call
A high-piched ki-ki-ki-ki-ki.

Status
Uncommon to locally common resident.

[Lisbeth]

186. Pygmy Falcon Polihierax semitorquatus (Akkedisvalk)

© PRWIN
Female & male

© Mel
Male

Female © nan

© nan

© BluTuna

© nan

© Sharifa & Duke
Male

Links:
Species text Sabap1
Sabap2
Global Raptor Information Network
Oiseaux net: http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-afric ... alcon.html

[Dewi]

183. Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni (Kleinrooivalk)
Order: Falconiformes. Family: Falconidae

Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni.jpg (36.7 KiB) Viewed 744 times

Description
29-33 cm. A small kestrel with long pointed wings and a long tail marked with a black band at the end. In flight underwing appears to be silvery white; secondary coverts are grey. Whitish talons are diagnostic.
The adult male is distinguished by his blue-grey head, rump, tail and wings (greater upperwing coverts). Males have an unmarked chestnut back and the underparts are buff with small brown streaks.
The female is pale, rufous and has a reddish brown head, with black barring on the upperparts and streaking below. Back and head are mid brown and the belly is pale. Both back and belly are streaked with brown.
Males and females have white undersides to their wings, with black tips. The eye ring is bright yellow and the feet are yellow to orange. The ankles and feet lack feathers.
The juveniles are similar in appearance to the adult females.
Similar species: Adult male differs from other Kestrels of the region in having an unspotted, chestnut back. Females and juveniles are very similar to Rock Kestrel, but paler below, especially on the underwing.

Distribution
Breeds in eastern Europe, Asia Minor, Mongolia, Iran and northern China, heading south in the non-breeding season to southern Spain, southern Turkey, Malta and across much of Africa, particularly South Africa. In southern Africa it is locally common in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa (excluding much of the arid Karoo and east coast), largely absent from Mozambique. De Aar, situated in the eastern Karoo (Northern Cape Province, South Africa), has one of the largest roosting populations of Lesser Kestrels in South Africa.



Habitat
Savanna & grasslands.

Movements and migrations
Palearctic breeding migrant, leaving its breeding grounds from August-September and eventually arriving in southern Africa in the period from October-November, leaving again around March.

Diet
Mainly locusts and termites; occasionally small birds like finches. It mainly eats arthropods, foraging from a perch or while hovering above the ground. In the run up to its departure foraging activity becomes more intense so that it can build up fat; for some reason the females hunt more actively than the males during this time.

Breeding
Breeding takes place between March and May, and eggs are laid, not in nests, but in scraped out depressions in trees. Again, lesser kestrels nest as colonies and pairs will display to each other to strengthen the pair bond. The female invests more time than the male in incubating the four to six eggs she lays, and rearing the chicks when they hatch after 28 to 31 days, but the male will contribute by fighting to defend their territory. The chicks hatch over several days and so the last to hatch is smaller than the others. This individual is most likely to die as it cannot compete effectively for food, and when food is particularly scarce it may be killed and eaten by its siblings. The chicks are fed for two to four weeks, and then must learn to hunt for themselves.

Call
Very distinctive chay-chay-chay call. Listen to Bird Call.

Status
Common summer visitor.

[Dewi]

183. Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni


Adult male, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park


Adult female, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

© Super Mongoose
S143, Kruger National Park

© Pumbaa
Female

© Sharifa & Duke

© Sharifa & Duke
Female

Links:
Species text Sabap1: http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/183.pdf
Sabap2: http://sabap2.adu.org.za/species_info.p ... #menu_left
McKechnie, A. 2013. Sahara odyssey: satellite transmitters reveal the secrets of Lesser Kestrels’ migration. African Birdlife 1(2):12.
Global Raptor Information Network: http://www.globalraptors.org/grin/Speci ... pecID=8244
Oiseaux net: http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-lesser-kestrel.html
Newman's birds of Southern Africa
De Aar's Lesser Kestrels