Specimen Showcase｜The Art of Honeybee Hunting by the Oriental Honey Buzzard
- Hong Kong Biodiversity Museum
- Mar 10
- 4 min read
Birds of prey are, in many cultures, perceived as majestic creatures that rule the sky🦅 and a symbol of strength, power, and freedom due to their regal appearance, sharp eyesight, and impressive flight capabilities💪🏻. Not all species, however, fits this stereotype and today let’s have a look at a species fitting a slightly different lifestyle for a raptor species🤩- the Oriental Honey Buzzard, 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘩𝘺𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘴 (Temminck, 1821)
The Oriental Honey Buzzard is a medium-large raptor, with wingspan ranging from 130 to 150 cm. Although their plumage colour varies among individuals, the distinctive pigeon-like head of this raptor sets it apart from other raptors. Unlike most birds of prey, honey buzzards are specialists mainly feeding on combs, larvae and pupae of social wasps, bees and hornets🐝. The Oriental Honey Buzzard is a migratory species🏃🏻♀️💨, with a large number of individuals traveling annually from Siberia and Japan to Indonesia. This migratory pattern parallels some of the migratory honey bee species which represent the buzzards’ main diet, such as the Giant Honeybee (𝘈𝘱𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘢, Fabricius, 1793), which is renowned for its aggressiveness and highly venomous sting🥶. Out of the many safer prey options available, why would the Oriental Honey Buzzard travel hundreds of miles every year and risk their lives to feed on the dangerous honeybee😖? To answer this question, let’s take a look at the buzzards' unique physical characteristics and foraging behavior that makes them skilled honey bee killers🔎.
The head morphology of honey buzzards help them to hunt bee combs and provide them with protection against the stings of bees and wasps. It is observed that the feathers of all species of honey buzzards possess filamentous structures, especially around the eyes, which may help to deter bees and wasps. The scale-like feathers on the face of adult Oriental Honey Buzzards are thought to prevent the stings from reaching the birds’ skin while raiding bee nests. Unlike other birds of prey which require a strong and robust beak to rip the meat, honey buzzards use their beaks to handle bee nests and feed on larvae in the combs. It has evolved to have a longer and narrower shape with a short hook at its tip allowing the extraction of larvae from honey combs. On the other hand, the nares on top of the buzzards’ beak are long and narrow, which may be a protective adaptation to prevent bees and wasps from entering the buzzards’ nasal tissue during raiding of the nests🐦.
In addition to the physical characteristics of their heads, the Oriental Honey Buzzard have evolved unique feet and claws that enable them to specialize in hunting bee hives. Unlike other raptors, they don't need to capture and restrain their prey🦌, so their digits and claws have a weaker grip. However, they are highly flexible and agile, which allows them to easily pick up larvae from honeycombs🧘🏻♀️. Their relatively long digits and longer claws on the 3rd and 4th digits may also assist them in digging out wasp nests from the ground. Since Giant Honeybees are the largest in size (around 17 to 20 mm long) and have the largest colonies among wild honeybee species, the Oriental Honey Buzzard's specialized morphology allows them to exploit the nutrient-rich larvae of these bees as their primary diet. However, this specialization comes at a cost, as they lose the ability to hunt larger prey that require strong beaks and claws. It's a trade-off!
There are two strategies used by the Oriental Honey Buzzard to obtain bee combs: 1) preying on newly empty nests and 2) preying on active nests. The Oriental Honey Buzzard has a preference for preying upon empty nests left by the Giant Honeybee during the migration period. Although preying on newly empty nests is a safer approach, it is less nutritious as it contains used brood combs with a few undeveloped larvae😕. For this reason, buzzards would also prey on active nests out of the migratory period, which contains nutritious materials including honey, bee pollen and lots of larvae🤤. To locate the site of bee combs, the Oriental Honey Buzzard would follow worker bees back to their nests👻. As it hovers near the bee’s nest, the bees can detect its presence and release pheromone, triggering aggressiveness in other bees from the colony and leading to attacks on moving objects that might pose a threat to their nest😡. Some experienced Oriental Honey Buzzard would even transfer the attack by flying to nearby area where there are people walking around. What a clever strategy!
If you're fascinated by these intelligent tactics, be sure to visit the Hong Kong Biodiversity Museum to learn more and prepare yourself for the possibility of witnessing this surprising encounter!
Text: Bonnie
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