Red-necked Buzzard
Buteo auguralis
This is the common buzzard of much of the Sahel in north, west, and central Africa. Typically has a brown back, a dark chest, a black-spotted white belly, and a rufous tail. Can variably show rufous on the neck and breast. Dark brown immatures lack rufous on the tail. In flight, shows a white underwing with a thick black border. Found in savanna, broadleaf woodland, and forest clearings. Similar to Common Buzzard, but separated by the contrasting underparts: a dark chest and a white belly. The call is a drawn-out squeal.
Identification
The red-necked buzzard is a medium-sized bird of prey with a distinctive rufous neck, the rufous colour extends up over the crown and down on to the upper back. The rest of the upperparts are mostly blackish, except for the rufous upper tail feathers which has a black subterminal bar. The underparts are mainly white, apart from a dark throat and dark blotches which extend along the flanks. Juveniles resemble the adults, but have a browner upperparts, creamy rather than white underparts and lack the dark throat.
Taxonomy
Genus: Buteo; Family: Accipitridae; Order: Accipitriformes.
- Scientific name
- Buteo auguralis
- Authority
- Salvadori, 1866
- Order
- Accipitriformes
- Family
- Accipitridae
- Genus
- Buteo
Range and habitat
The red-necked buzzard prefers forest edges and clearings, including those within secondary and primary forests but it occurs in cultivated areas and is generally absent from the main areas of lowland rainforest up to an altitude of 2,500 metres. The red-necked buzzard occurs in a broad band running from Mauritania south to Liberia then eastwards to Ethiopia and Uganda, as well as south along the Gulf of Guinea coast through Gabon to the Democratic Republic of Congo and north-eastern Angola.<p>The red-necked buzzard is a partial migrant, the northern populations may be completely migrant which leave the savanna following the rains and spend the dry season to the south along the edge of the main forest zone.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Gray-headed Silverbill
Spermestes griseicapilla
A small, chunky, large-billed, distinctively marked waxbill. The gray head is speckled with fine white spots. There is sharp contrast between the brown back, the white rump, and the black tail, which is especially obvious in flight. Found locally in both dry and moist savanna and woodland, usually in grassy areas. Usually in flocks. The most common call is a quiet “tsip.”
Dusky Eagle-Owl
Ketupa coromanda
A very large, grayish-brown owl with yellow eyes and distinctive ears. Note the fine barring and dark streaks on the pale underparts, and white patches on the shoulders. In flight, wings and tail are strongly barred below. Perches in tall trees, usually near a water body, where it waits for birds and mammals to pounce upon. The call is a distinctive series of low, guttural notes that increase in volume and speed before trailing off towards the end.
Seram Bush Warbler
Locustella musculus
A sparrow-sized dark warbler with an often scruffy-looking, graduated tail. Has dark chestnut-brown upperparts, a whitish eyebrow, a distinct white throat, and dull grayish underparts. Formerly grouped with Sulawesi Bush Warbler and Buru Bush Warbler under the name “Chestnut-backed Bush Warbler.” A secretive inhabitant of montane and foothill forest, often creeping around on or near the ground. Darker above and dingier below than Gray’s and Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warblers, and also has a clean-cut white throat; almost identical to Buru and Sulawesi Bush Warblers, but ranges do not overlap. Song is a dry, buzzy series of notes: “tzit-tzit-tzeet.”
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