African harrier-hawk

Description

The African harrier-hawk is a medium-sized raptor. The upperparts, head and breast are pale grey. The belly is white with fine dark barring. The broad wings are pale grey with a black trailing edge fringed with a narrow white line. The tail is black with a single broad white band. There is a bare facial patch of variable colour, usually red or yellow. Genders are similar, but young birds have pale brown instead of grey, and dark brown replacing black. An unusual trait of this species is the double-jointed knees it possesses, which enable it to reach into otherwise inaccessible holes and cracks for prey. A comparable leg-structure and behaviour can be found in the Neotropical crane hawk; a case of convergent evolution.

The call is a whistled sueee-sueee-sueee.

Habitat

The African harrier-hawk can be found in natural woodland, tree plantations and urban areas. Found on occasion in the CBD of Stellenbosch town in the Western Cape of South Africa. Seen in Stellenbosch in Onder Papegaaiberg and in Technopark on 29 June 2020. Also observed about 120 km from Stellenbosch in the suburbs of Onrusriver (Onrus) which is situated on the coast near Hermanus. Seen on 6 June 2020 in Harman Road Claremont. Also seen 23 June 2020 around Ainslie Road, Plumstead and 13 July 2020 in Kenilworth. Previously also seen in CBD Cape Town, between the Cullinan and the Southern Sun Waterfront hotels. It was hunting in the tees on the square. 2 starlings were flying around it in great agitation. He must've know there was a nest somewhere there.Seen in Ceres in the witzenberg sitting on an electric pole by the Naude Street park on 29 June 2020. Seen climbing about in a Newtonia tree in the Miotoni suburb of Karen, Nairobi, Kenya, on July 4th 2020. Seen in Karen (Kenya), Jacob Chege Drive 14th July 2020

Biology

It builds a stick nest in the fork of a tree or the crown of a palm tree. The clutch is one to three eggs.

The African harrier-hawk is omnivorous, eating the fruit of the oil palm as well as hunting small vertebrates. Its ability to climb, using wings as well as feet, and its long double-jointed legs, enable this bird to raid the nests of cavity-nesters such as barbets and woodhoopoes for eggs and nestlings. It has been known to prey on introduced species such as feral pigeons, house sparrows and eastern gray squirrels.