Black-breasted Buzzard

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Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Falconiformes
Family:	Accipitridae
Genus:	Hamirostra Brown, 1845
Species:	H. melanosternon

Binomial name

Hamirostra melanosternon
(Gould, 1841)

The Black-breasted Buzzard (Hamirostra melanosternon), or Black-breasted Kite, is a large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae and the monotypic genus Hamirostra. Its wing length ranges between 440-500 mm, with females being larger.

1 Identification
2 Range
3 Habitat
4 Food
5 Nesting
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Identification

Adult birds are relatively easy to recognise by their mainly dark plumage combined with distinctive white patches on the wings at the bases of the primary feathers.

[edit] Range

The Black-breasted Buzzard is endemic to Australia and found mainly in the northern and central parts of the continent; it does not occur in Tasmania.

[edit] Habitat

Deserts, dry grasslands, shrublands, sparse tropical woodlands and tree-lined watercourses.

[edit] Food

It eats rabbits, large lizards, birds and carrion. It will also raid the eggs of ground-nesting birds, breaking large eggs by hurling stones against them with its large beak.

[edit] Nesting

This species nests in trees, often along watercourses, building a platform of sticks with a central leaf-lined depression for the clutch of usually two eggs. The incubation period is about 40 days, with chicks fledging about 60 days after hatching.

[edit] References

BirdLife International. (2006). Species factsheet: Hamirostra melanosternon. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 3/12/2006
Marchant, S.; & Higgins, P.J. (Eds). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Vol,2: Raptors to Lapwings. Oxford University Press: Melbourne. ISBN 0-19-553069-1