Lizard Buzzard

Overview

The lizard buzzard, also known as the lizard hawk, is a smallish, stocky bird of prey native to Sub-Saharan Africa. Although named as a buzzard, molecular studies suggest it is more closely related to Accipiter hawks and the South American Microspizias hawks than to Buteo buzzards.

Identification

• A small, stocky raptor, 35–37 cm in length, with short, pointed wings and a red to orange-red cere and legs.
• Upperparts, head and breast are grey, while the belly is white with fine dark barring.
• Distinguished by a vertical black line on a white throat and a black tail with a white tip and single white band.
• Flight is undulating, resembling that of a thrush, with very limited soaring.

Habitat

Found across Sub-Saharan Africa from Eritrea to north-eastern South Africa, the species prefers moist, dense savannah woodland, miombo woodland, and forest edges. It is also present in arid thornbush areas in East and Central Africa, particularly during the winter months.

Diet

The lizard buzzard forages by perching 6–10 m high and swooping or gliding onto prey in the grass, rarely catching food in flight. Its diet consists of invertebrates, reptiles, and mammals, with grasshoppers and termites being most common by number, while rodents are the most significant by biomass.

Did you know?

These raptors are typically silent, but they produce a clear, distinct, and melodious whistle described as 'klu-klu-klu' during the early breeding season in September and October.