Crested Honey-buzzard

Pernis ptilorhynchus (Temminck, 1821)

2015-05-17 Bakchar. Tomskaya oblast.	© Mishail Belousow

Description

Oriental (Crested) Honey Buzzard is very similar on Eurasian Honey Buzzard but quite larger than it. Coloration is very variable too, from dark-brownish to pale-buffy. The elongated feathers of nape formed little tipped crest, but not at all birds. Distinctive character is dark shoe-shaped spot on the fore-neck, but it is noted not on all of birds especially from afar. The pale throat often with longitudinal strip. Tail of male is usually with two dark broad bands. Tail of female and juvenile is with dense across bars. Eyes are yellow in female, dark reddish-brown to cherry-red in male, and yellow in juvenile. Bill wattle is dark-grey on adults and yellow on juveniles. Underwings are barred such as ones on Eurasian Honey Buzzard but without dark carpal patch, or it is slightly expressed. Underwings of the birds of dark morph are all dark. Weight 750-1500 gr, length about 60-65, wing 40.5-49.5, wingspan about 150-170 cm.

Distribution

Southern (locally middle) taiga of Eastern Siberia. Range goes west to Tomsk Region and partially overlaps with the range of Eurasian Honey-buzzard there. North to southern Yakutia, where it possibly breeds. After 1990s the increase of number and probably spacial expanding was recorded in Cisbaikalia and adjacent regions.

References

В.К.Рябицев. "Птицы Сибири". Москва-Екатеринбург, Изд-во "Кабинетный ученый", 2014.