Black honey buzzard facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Black honey buzzard |
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|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Henicopernis
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| Species: |
infuscatus
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The black honey buzzard (Henicopernis infuscatus) is a large bird of prey. It is also called the New Britain honey buzzard. This bird is part of the Accipitridae family, which includes eagles and hawks.
Black honey buzzards are about 50 centimeters (20 inches) tall. They have a dark body and head. You can spot them by the bright white stripes on their tail and wing feathers. When they fly, their long wings and big secondary feathers stand out. These birds usually stay in one place. They live only on the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea. Because they live in thick forests, scientists are still learning a lot about them.
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What Does the Black Honey Buzzard Look Like?
The black honey buzzard is a dark grey-brown color. It has light, silvery stripes on its wings and tail. You can see these stripes clearly when the bird is resting.
When flying, its wings have a special shape. They are narrow near the body and wide at the tips. The outer wing feathers also bulge out. We don't know what young black honey buzzards look like yet. These birds are about 48 to 52 centimeters (19-20 inches) tall. Their wings can spread out to 110 to 115 centimeters (43-45 inches) wide.
A person named James Sligo Jameson first wrote about this bird in 1877.
Where Does the Black Honey Buzzard Live?
The black honey buzzard lives on New Britain island. This island is part of the Bismarck Archipelago in Papua New Guinea. They prefer to live in untouched rainforests, often in hilly areas. They can be found up to 1,300 meters (4,265 feet) high.
Scientists believe there are between 6,000 and 15,000 adult black honey buzzards.
How Does the Black Honey Buzzard Behave?
What Sounds Do They Make?
The black honey buzzard makes a call with 12 piping notes. The notes get faster and shorter over about three seconds.
What Do They Eat?
We don't know much about what black honey buzzards eat. But we think they eat similar things to their close relative, the long-tailed honey buzzard. This usually includes insects, bee and wasp larvae, lizards, and even other birds or their eggs.
How Do They Reproduce?
The black honey buzzard is a very shy bird. It is not often seen. This makes it hard to study their breeding habits. Scientists guess that a generation of these birds lasts about 10 years. This guess is based on other similar-sized birds of prey.
Why Is the Black Honey Buzzard Important?
The black honey buzzard needs old, natural forests to live and build its nests. Sadly, a lot of these forests are disappearing. Between 1990 and 2000, about 12.5% of the main forest where these birds live was lost.
New Britain island has lost many trees due to logging. Forests are also being cleared for farms and palm oil plantations. In 2004, West New Britain province sold more than half of Papua New Guinea's timber. However, many areas where the black honey buzzard lives are on steep mountains. These places are not good for logging or palm oil farms.
The black honey buzzard is listed as "vulnerable" by the IUCN Red List. This means it is at risk of becoming endangered. The main reason for this is that its forest home keeps getting smaller.
