European Honey Buzzard

• GeneralIt digs out wasp and bumblebee nests; the feathers on its face protect it from the stings.
• It digs out wasp nests with its feet and eats the grubs: stiff, scale-like feathers around its eyes and bill protect it from stings, and the wasps appear not to recognise it as a threat.
• It crosses the Strait of Gibraltar in enormous concentrations: within a few days in May and September tens of thousands of honey buzzards may pass, one of the most remarkable migration spectacles in Europe.
• Its plumage mimics the common buzzard's, and the prevailing hypothesis is defensive mimicry: by resembling a more aggressive raptor it suffers fewer attacks from corvids and other birds.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)

Habitat and environment

Mature deciduous and mixed woodland with clearings; winters in the rainforests of West Africa

Sexual maturity

3 years

Gestation / incubation

33 days of incubation

Litter / clutch size

2 eggs

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pernis_apivorus