What raptor is that?

Telephone and fencing poles along main roads are very useful lookout and hunting perches for many species of birds of prey. The roads themselves are happy hunting grounds for more birds of prey because of road casualties caused by passing vehicles. They hit rodents, small animals like hares and antelope and also insects like locusts, all of which make easy prey for the birds. Unfortunately vehicles are also responsible for quite a number of casualties amongst the birds.

As many birds only visit South Africa from North Africa, Europe and Asia during the southern summer, the holiday season is a good time to identify birds of prey while driving.

On these pages we show some of the birds that may at times be seen perched on telephone lines or fencing posts along the road. These birds will normally be perched in a vertical position, so the length given is from beak to tail.

The article featured 11 birds, of which 5 are shown here.
Yellow-billed Kite
Yellow-billed Kite
Milvus migrans parasitus
Length: 52 cm
Colour: mainly brown to dark brown with a bright yellow bill. Summer visitor to northern, central and eastern parts, and along the coast to southwestern Cape, a few may overwinter. The related Black Kite (Milvus migrans migrans) has a black beak and is mainly confined to the northern and eastern parts of South Africa.

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Lesser Kestrel
Falco nuamanni
Length: 29 cm
Colour: dark chestnut red with a blackish tail.
A non-breeding summer migrant from Europe and Asia. Concentrated in highveld of Northwest Province, Free State, Limpopo and Eastern Cape, with smaller numbers in south western Cape. 		Rock Kestrel
Falco rupicolus
Length: 31 cm
Colour: mainly rufous with dark spotting and tail is blue with dark black tip. Permanent resident. Quite common in open areas all over the country, but breeding concentrated in southwest, where it may also occur in urban areas. Breeds on rock ledges.		 Jackal Buzzard
Buteo rufofuscus
Length: 50 cm
Colour: dark rufous chest, dark abdomen, red tail and dark grey back. Fairly common resident, breeds on rock ledges and in trees. The name jackal buzzard derives from its call which closely resembles the call of the black-backed jackal		 Steppe Buzzard
Buteo vulpinus
Length: 50 cm
Colour: varies from dark brown to light brown with light spots and streaks all over. A non-breeding summer migrant from Russia and Europe. Common, except in dry northwest. Deaths may be caused by insect sprays, as they feed on rodents and locusts.
Grey Heron