Hawks/Buzzards
Augur Buzzard
Buteo augur (Buteo rufofuscus, Buteo auguralis)
Let me start by saying that in the United States, we have a long history if giving animals the wrong names. It is in this tradition that we call vultures "buzzards," when they are not. The word buzzard is the British-English word for hawk. I'm not sure how America came to call these birds hawks, but much of the rest of the world calls them buzzards. Thus, the Augur Buzzard is not a bare-headed scavenger, but rather, a bird very much like our native Red-Tailed Hawk. In fact, it is so much like our Red-Tailed Hawk that it is nick-named the Red-Tailed Hawk of Africa. To continue with confusing names, there are two species that are so similar to the Augur Buzzard, that they are commonly confused with it. I have seen Augur Buzzards referred to as Buteo augur, Buteo rufofuscus, and Buteo auguralis. I have even seen them referred to by the wrong scientific name at other education centers that have captive Augurs! Further research will show that the species Buteo auguralis is a West African species, with the common name of Red-Tailed or Red-Necked Buzzard. There are some color differences, mostly that the birds are more brown than gray, and tend to have a dark area on their breast and neck. Buteo rufofuscus is the Jackal Buzzard, which has similar coloring to the Augur Buzzard (and was for a time thought to simply be a color variation) but has a large chestnut-red area on it's breast instead of white or gray coloring. Both rufofuscus and auguralis are smaller birds than Buteo augur.
Native to the highlands of East Africa, the Augur Buzzard is a large raptor that feeds almost entirely on rodents. The most frequently occurring coloration is when the top of the bird (back, back of the head, and top of wings) is dark slate gray and the underside is pure white. Augur Buzzards always have a chestnut-red tail that often includes dark bands near the bottom. Lighter variations include birds that are slate gray on top, but with some white spotting. The darkest variation is dark slate gray over its whole body, with white only on the underside of the wings, and the tail still chestnut-red. Buzzards that spend a lot of time soaring, and that catch prey mostly on the ground are frequently colored light underneath and dark on top. This is so the buzzard looks light colored from below, where it will be seen against a pale sky, and dark from above, where it will be seen against the dark ground. This makes it harder to spot by prey or predators. Immature Augur Buzzards are dark brown in the places they will be gray as adults, and creamy-tan where they will be white, with a brown barred tail.
Like many raptors, the female Augur Buzzard is much larger than the male, about 33% larger (by weight; by length it is about 12%). It is speculated that this difference in size allows each bird in a mated pair to target different prey groups. Not only does this remove competition between them for food, but if there is a time with very few small prey, the female can still hunt larger prey and support the family. Similarly if there is an unusual lack of large prey, the male can still support the family.
Augur Buzzards, and all other birds of prey are illegal to possess in any form in California and many other states. The Augur Buzzard at Luzonica is held under a California state permit, allowing us to have him for education purposes. Native U.S. species of birds are illegal to possess in any form in every state in the U.S. For information on permits and regulations, please see our Links page. Incase you're wondering, the scientific name listed on our state permit is Buteo rufofuscus augur
Zike (pronounced "Zee-kay")
Zike was born in the U.S. as part of a captive breeding program to maintain non-wild-caught Augur buzzards in zoos and educational centers in the U.S. Luzonica does not support the capture of wild birds for falconry or education when the same or similar species can be obtained through captive breeding programs.
"I really appreciate you coming in and teaching us about birds. I did not know that the hawk used his feet to kill, because he has a pretty sharp beak." -Michael M., student
Harris Hawk
Parabuteo unicinctus
The Harris hawk is a desert bird, found throughout Mexico and into the southern parts of Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and some of California. Highly prized in the sport of falconry, Harris hawks are considered one of the most intelligent species of raptors in the world. They often work in groups to plan and carry out ambushes on prey animals, and are nick-named "wolves of the sky" for their social hunting methods. Harris hawks live in a matriarchal society, with an alpha female socially above the other males and females of that hawk group. Each spring, the alpha female may have several nests active at the same time, with different males tending to the different nests.
Harris hawks have relatlively short wings and long legs and a long tail. This enables them to do complex meneuvers in the air while they are flying. Their quick reaction, turns, stops and starts, combined with hunting in pairs or groups enable these hawks to catch and kill prey that is much larger (compared to their own bodies) than the prey that most raptors can catch and kill. Harris hawks often catch and eat prey up to the size of a desert hare or rabbit. Their diet is primarily made up of rodents, lizards, insects and other birds.
Popay
Popay is named after a famous Native American who was a ruthless and successful war chief. After choosing this name, we later realized that "Popay" did not particularly befit his calm and generally un-aggressive personality, however the name had already stuck.
Popay was brought in to a wildlife rehabilitation center in Arizona as an adult bird. He was found with part of his left wing missing, though the injury had mostly healed. He was probably hunting for food in the desert, and while flying straight down in a dive towards some prey, likely struck his wing against a telephone line, severing his radius and ulna bones. Like a human who has had their arm amputated just below the elbow, the rest of his wing will never grow back. He will never be able to fly again.
Being an intelligent bird, he was able to survive for some time in the wild on his own, but slowly he began to starve, as he could catch food, but not enough to keep him healthy long term. Popay has a very calm disposition and this is what makes him an ideal avian ambassador in our education program. We do not know how old he is, but we estimate him to be about five to seven years old. The age of a wild bird can be very roughly estimated by the wear and tear on the bird's feet because over the years, catching live animals (which fight back) tend to leave scars and visible wear on a bird's feet. This is similar to how a person's hands look if they work many years of hard-labor compared to a person who has not done much manual labor at all. You can "see" the labor showing in the way a person's hands look. Popay's feet look relatively un-blemished, so we are guessing him to be a younger bird.
Read about the legendary Native American war chief here.
"Thank you so so much for coming to our school and teaching us about your cool birds. My favorite bird was the Harris Hawk. It was sad because he had lost his wing and now he can't fly, but I still like that one the best because he looks so beautiful and his wings are really cool!" -Kyle O., student
"I really enjoyed you coming to our class and sharing information about the wonderful birds you brought in. My favorite bird you brought in was the Harris Hawk. It was very very very very very very cool. I never would have guessed it would have been so smart." -Spencer, student
"My favorite bird that you presented to us was the Harris Hawk. His tail was so long and beautiful. I was so sad about what happened to his wing, but I am so excited that he has such a great home and survived that terrible tragedy!" -Morgan P., student
"Something new I learned was that Harris Hawks live in communities and that they're run by females." -Kaleb S., student