Crested Honey Buzzard

How to identify

Field marks

1. Head particularly small, like a pigeon’s
2. Brow ridge not prominent; face unlike that of a typical raptor
3. Tail feathers long; crest short
4. Throat has a single dark streak

Male, female and young

Sexes similar in size and shape; adult iris dark reddish-brown in male, bright yellow in female, though both sexes have yellow irises in some subspecies.

Voice

Usually very quiet; occasionally gives a single sharp, whistle-like shriek.

Similar species

Short-toed Snake Eagle

Easily confused in flight at a distance, but Crested Honey Buzzard has a more slender head and a longer neck.

European Honey Buzzard

Larger than European Honey Buzzard, with less dark brown upperparts.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: February and October–November · Most records: India, China, Singapore

Crested Honey Buzzard has been recorded at 1,610 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 47 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

1. International Birding and Research Center Eilat (IBRCE)Israel1,634 records
2. Kenting NP – Sheding Lingxiao Pavilion (Raptors Observation Spot)Taiwan (China)1,463 records
3. Valley SchoolIndia1,364 records

Countries and regions with the most records

IndiaChinaSingaporeThailandMalaysiaSri LankaIsraelUnited Arab Emirates

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The crested honey buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus), also known as the Oriental, Asiatic, or Eastern honey buzzard, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, eagles, and harriers. It is a fairly large raptor, larger than the European honey buzzard. The name honey buzzard is derived from their diets, which consist mainly of the larvae of bees and wasps extracted from honey combs.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

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