ACCIPITRIDAE
ORIENTAL HONEY-BUZZARD



Location : Kampung Simee, Ipoh, Perak
Date : 28 March 2021

55–65 cm Male pale morph ruficollis: Relatively small head and longish neck, short crest. Typically has greyish head-sides, pale below with dark throat-border and mesial streak, gorget of dark streaks on lower throat/upper breast, warm bars on lower breast to vent. Eyes brown, cere grey. May have mostly cinnamon-rufous or whitish head/underparts (latter streaked and/or barred or unmarked). In flight, relatively long broadish wings and long narrow tail with two well-spaced blackish bands (can look blackish with pale central band); underwing typically whitish with blackish trailing edge, narrow dark bars on coverts and (usually) three blackish bands across primaries/outer secondaries. Dark markings on flight feathers visible from above. Female pale morph: Narrower tail-bands, narrower trailing edge to underwing, which has three bands across secondaries/inner primaries. Adult dark morph: Mostly dark brown head, body and coverts. Adult dark morph variant: Whitish bars and scales below/on underwing-coverts (probably only in torquatus). (h,i) Juvenile pale morph: Typically paler head, neck, underparts and underwing-coverts; less distinct dark bands on underside of flight feathers, 3+ dark tail-bands. May have dark mask and/or streaks below. Eyes yellow. Other subspecies P.p.torquatus (R S Tenasserim/south W Thailand southwards): Clear crest (6–7 cm). P.p.orientalis (VS race): Large, longwinged; little/no crest. VOICE Screaming whistled wheeew. HABITAT & BEHAVIOUR Broadleaved forest/open woodland; up to 2,000 m (B mostly below 1,220 m). Level wings when soaring, often slightly arched when gliding. Flight display of shallow upward swoop and almost vertical upstretching of wings, which are briefly winnowed. RANGE Fc R (except C,SE Thailand, Singapore, W,E Tonkin). Un/fc PM and WV W,NE,SE,S Thailand, Pen Malaysia, Singapore. Un/fc PM C Thailand, N Laos, W,E Tonkin.