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Please can you help with the ID of this raptor seen in Kruger in Feb this year.
I have it tentatively as a Steppe Buzzard but really not sure?

Large

Thanks

You may change the tentative to positive, Elsa

Yay!
Thanks Johan!

I'd first thought that this might be a very pale morph steppe buzzard, but now, particularly because of the rufous and barred tail, I'm not so sure Seen along the R27 between Yzerfontein and WCNP on 3 January 2013.

Also in 2008 I took photos of 2 unidentified raptors during our November visit to Pilanesberg. These are the only photos I’ve got and they are not very good.

The first one seems like a Forrest Buzzard but I do not think it is common in Pilanesberg.

The second one is completely unknown to me.

This is my first attempt to enter pictures on Forum so bear with me if it does not work.


Pilanesberg 2008 IMG_3906_1 by Jamton, on Flickr


Pilanesberg 2008 IMG_3971-001 by Jamton, on Flickr

Steppe Buzzards

Forest Buzzard prefers forest habitat.

Photo 2 actually is the one that is the easier ID as you can see the distinct barring on the underparts.

The biggest thing that seperates Steppe from Forest is that Forest has blotch markings on the underparts as apposed to barring like you can see in photo 2 of the Steppe.

Photo 1 might be confusing, but you can see slight barring. Steppe Buzzards have variable plumage which can range from dark heavy barring (Photo 2) to little barring and even whitish underparts (photo 1)

Thank you DotDan,

I did not think photo 2 was a buzzard at all from that the posture.

The Steppe Buzzards look so different and I wonder if this one, seen on a pole close to the sea north of Cape Town, also is Steppe Buzzard? It looked much bigger than the ones seen close to Agulhas.


WC Welddrif 2011_02_02 IMG_4181_1 by Jamton, on Flickr

Looks like an immature black chested snake eagle to me Birgitta, but they are not usually within 100 km or so of Cape Town.

That sounds and looks very reasonable to me. We saw the bird south of Rocherpan (Cape Nature Reserve) that we had visited and before Velddrif which is 157 km from Cape Town according to information on internet.

To me the bird was really bigger than a buzzard, and with that yellow eye.

Thanks.

I hear what you say about the size, but it just doesn't look like a snake-eagle to me.

What about juvenile jackal buzzard?

Velddrif is known for good populations of Jackal Buzzards, so I would say this is a juvie Jackal Buzzard.

I'll go with DotDan on this, because of the lack of any barring on the tail - and the location logic.

Here is a photo of a juvenile Jackal Buzzard that I took 2 years ago. Notice the similarities?


_MG_1355 by DvdBergh, on Flickr

Thanks for your comments. I do not want to dispute your expertice but to me the bird seemed bigger than this one, which I am quite confident being a juvenil Jackal Buzzard, also seen i WC (Bredasdorp) a few days earlier:


WC Bredasdorp 2011_01_25 IMG_3720-001 by Jamton, on Flickr

Well, it is not a snake eagle. The shape of the head isn't right, the colouring isn't right.

The second (smaller) bird posted is an adult (dark brown rather than light brown) eyes, so it cannot be a jackal buzzard. I think this one is an adult Steppe buzzard, while the larger one (first pic) is a juvenile jackal buzzard.

That said, remember that all species have a normal size distribution, with most mid-size, some smaller than average and some larger than average. Maybe this one (the first pic) is right at the top of the scale? I see, for example, that Steppe buzzards can range between 40 and 58 cm, while jackal buzzard range between 45 and 55 cm...