The European Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus) is a raptor specialised in digging up wasp nests, resembling the Common Buzzard in size but with a narrower head and long, slim wings; despite its name it is not closely related to true buzzards. It measures 52-60 cm in length, has a wingspan of 113-135 cm and weighs 600-1,100 grams. Its silhouette differs from the buzzard's: the head is narrow and forward-projecting, almost dove-like, the wings long and relatively slim, and the tail long with three broad, widely spaced dark bands. Plumage is highly variable, from pale through intermediate to dark morphs, which makes identification demanding, though the yellow eye and the dense, scale-like feathers around the base of the bill, a protection against wasp stings, are useful close-range clues.
Its call is a clear, light and somewhat melancholic whistled "pii-lüü", distinct from the buzzard's more mewing "piäää". It breeds in southern and central Sweden up to lower Norrland, favouring older deciduous and mixed forest with open glades and clearings for hunting; the Swedish population is estimated at 5,000-8,000 pairs, and the species is red-listed as Near Threatened, disadvantaged by modern forestry and easily disturbed at the nest. A long-distance migrant, it arrives late, often not until mid-May, and departs in August-September; at migration watch points such as Falsterbo, thousands can pass during the peak in late August. It specialises in social wasps, digging with its feet to unearth wasp and bumblebee nests and eating the larvae, pupae and adults, and also takes amphibians, lizards, small rodents, bird chicks and berries, a dependence on wasp larvae that explains its late spring arrival. The nest is built in a deciduous tree, often on an old crow's or raptor's platform topped with fresh green twigs, and the female lays 1-3 eggs, incubated for around 30-35 days.
Read about this species in Swedish →