Sulawesi Honey-buzzard

The Sulawesi honey-buzzard is a 51–61 cm raptor with a small grey head, white throat marked by a dark central stripe, rusty upper breast with dark streaks, and a barred grey-and-white lower breast and belly. Its pale grey-brown tail is unevenly barred, and its thighs are unfeathered. Juveniles are paler and less strongly streaked. These features help distinguish it from the similarly patterned but larger-headed, shorter-winged Sulawesi hawk-eagle (Kehati Biodiversity Warriors; eBird/Merlin account).

The Sulawesi form is resident on Sulawesi, Peleng, Muna and Buton, while a second subspecies occurs in the Philippines. It uses primary forest and forest edge, particularly in hills and mountains, and feeds on bee and wasp nests, larvae, young and adults, supplemented by small vertebrates and other hymenopterans. Reported clutches contain one or two eggs, with May laying recorded in Sulawesi. Incubation and fledging periods were not available in the source opened (Kehati Biodiversity Warriors regional account).