The Black-breasted Snake Eagle, like the secretary bird, is by the Zulus of South Africa considered a symbol of victory. A symbol of victory over a vicious and pitiless world. Again and again in caves and in other places of gathering, our people used to portray this bird. It is also a symbol of God’s […]
Category: Accipitriformes
Bird stories, Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus)
The Nage tribe of Indonesia believe the bapu spirits that reside atop the volcano Ebu Lobo assume the guise of a Brahminy Kite (jata) or a large, high-flying hawk (jata jawa) when searching for human victims, whom they characteristically kill in the form of spirit buffalo. The following fable is told by the Visayan tribe […]
Bird stories, the Black Kite (Milvus migrans)
The Betsimisaraka tribe of Madagascar tell a fable explaining why fowls scratch the earth, and why kites scream as they fly: A fowl borrowed a needle from a kite, but the needle being lost, the kite said, I am not contented with your losing my needle, so that is why the fowl scratches the ground, […]
Bird stories, Bateleur Terathopius ecaudatus
The Mbuti tribe believes that if a pregnant woman or her husband eat this bird, a baby with an extraordinary large head may be born to them. The Tembo tribe of the Congo consider the species as a cure. Its feathers and claws are used to cure benign epilepsy. For the medical treatment, feathers and […]
Bird stories, Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
The Mono Indians of the Sierra Nevada, never kill their sacred black eagles, but pluck out the feathers of those that die and wear them on their heads. When they succeed in capturing a young one, after two weeks the village makes a great celebration. On July 4, 1776, on the afternoon following the morning […]
Energetic expenditure of male Ospreys provisioning natural and manipulated broods.
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) Science Article 2 abstract This study examined the relationship between brood size and energetic expenditure of male Ospreys. The daily energetic expenditure (DEE) of male Ospreys, provisioning nestlings and providing post-fledging parental care, was estimated using detailed time-energy budgets. Factors affecting DEE were investigated, and DEE and the maximum rate of […]
Courtship Feeding And Osprey Reproduction
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) Science Article 1 abstract A female Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) usually is fed exclusively by its mate between pair formation and egg-laying. Laying dates and courtship periods, but not clutch size, egg size, breeding success or female weight reserves, were correlated (negatively) with the prelaying feeding rates of 12 females breeding in […]
The occurrence of fault bars in the plumage of nestling Ospreys.
Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) Science Article 3 abstract We document the occurrence of fault bars in a population of nestling Ospreys Pandion haliaetus under natural conditions. Ospreys had an average of 9.9 fault bars on their rectrices, however variation was large. Fault bar formation declined linearly with age and increased symmetrically from outer to inner […]
Pre-Nesting Behavior Of The Swallow-Tailed Kite (Elanoides Forficatus), Including Interference By An Unmated Male With A Breeding Pair
Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus) Science Article 2 abstract Snyder( 1974) has described the breeding biology of the Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus). My observations of their pre-nesting behavior, made while staying at the Archbold Biological Station at Lake Placid, Florida, confirm his on copulations,courtship feeding, and nest-building Lawrence Kilham, Raptor Research 14(1):29-31 Download article download full […]
Food Deliveries At Swallow-Tailed Kite Nests In Southern Florida
Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus) Science Article 3 abstract We studied the diets of nesting Swallowtailed Kites (Elanoides forficatus) at eight nests in 1988