Scientific name:
Pernis apivorus

Natural spread:
Europe, Asia

the 51-58 cm long ones and 0,4-1,05 kg carries heavy wasp-buzzards completely rightly its name, because they live from wasps preferably, whose larvae and honeycombs. Also bumble-bees and bees as well as various other insects, spiders and other Gliedertiere frequently take in wasp-buzzards. they are on tried also in its physique at this food. So, they have a strong, overlapping Befiederung between beak-root and eyes, to slits of narrowed nose-holes and to Scharrfüßen of reorganized catches. Therefore, they differ sufficiently from other gripping-birds in order to place it into an independent subfamily of the Habichtartigen. Beside it all over almost Europe and in Asia until Java, Borneo and to the Philippines as brood-bird spread wasp-buzzard still belongs the Celebes-Wespenbussard (Pernis celebensis) from Celebes and the Philippines (without Palawan) into this subfamily. Some zoologist views means and Eastern Asia's wasp-buzzards, India, the Sunda-Inseln, Palawans and the Philippines as own type (Malayen-Wespenbussard, Pernis ptilorhynchus) and limits the spread-area the also in Europe of native wasp-buzzard eastward on west-Siberia and "Transkaukasien."

Wasp-buzzards are not at all so rare in the warm dry-areas and extended forest-regions of Europe, how often assumed becomes. its inconspicuous way of life and also the severe similarity with buzzards (Buteo buteo) often makes that one doesn't assess the stock of wasp-buzzards right.

Characteristics Wasp-buzzards differ protruding head longer in its longer tail (with 2 dark bandages on the underside), the longer wings with its parallel crusts and the slimmer, for itself from buzzards to the front. Often, also the wing-undersides with its dark stains offer in the area of this carpal as well as the dark bond at the rear wing-edge a difference. The coloring and also the plumage-drawing are however just as variable with wasp-buzzards as with buzzards and therefore offers bad identifications.

Hikes Wasp-buzzards attract attention particularly to the Zugzeit if they pass through in often quite large troops within few days (usually in the time between middle August and middle of September) in Central Europe and hike into equatorial-Africa's tropical rain-forest-area southwards. Only against April-beginning June, if the wasps in the brood-areas of the wasp-buzzards pull up already numerous descendants in big nests, these gripping-birds come back to its traditional Nistbezirken.

Brood-biology Many wasp-buzzards probably already come back verpaart firmly into the brood-precinct and begin fast with the construction of a new eyrie. These griffins are much more territorial in the brood-area than Z. B. Buzzards; Already 1500 m of distance often turn into Artgenossen and expelled more. Only rarely, wasp-buzzards repair already existing Nistanlagen. Both partners share the work; usually, the new eyries are in high trees at forest-edges. The nest consists of 2 mostly, very rarely also from 1-3 eggs (4,9 x 4,1 cm) and is incubated by both partners, often predominant only from the female wasp-buzzard, for 30-37 days, Legeabstand 3-5 days, brood-beginning from 1. Ah. The boys first wear a soft dress from long, brownish (upper side) and shorter, white Dunen (underside). The 2. Dunenkleid is denser, knows more shortly and completely.

Initially atzen (feed) and hudern (be warm) both alto-birds its offspring. Wasps and bumble-bee-larvae form in the 1. Week the main-share of the here-carried food. Later, wasp-buzzards bring also small vertebrates to its boys to the eyrie.

Young wasp-buzzards don't splash its excrement different than all other gripping-birds of Europe far over the eyrie-edge but don't place it on the nest-edge only rarely gay white spot from, so that below the brood-tree on the ground to see is. Wasp-buzzards become approximately fully-fledged with 44 days. The oldest known ring-birds turned 23 as well as. 28 years old.