Species Guide: European Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus)
Family: Accipitridae
The Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus) is a medium-large bird of prey best known for its unusual diet specialization on the brood (larvae and pupae) of social wasps and bees. It breeds across much of temperate Europe and western Asia and performs long-distance migrations to spend the non-breeding season in sub-Saharan Africa (for European populations). Although sometimes mistaken for common buzzards in flight, honey buzzards have several subtle morphological and behavioral specialities related to their diet and life history.
Appearance
Adults have a long, slender neck, a narrow head, and a relatively small bill for a raptor; plumage varies from pale (grey-brown) to dark morphs. In flight, the wings are long and slightly angled with a distinctive, often barred tail; the head shows a crest in some Pernis species (more obvious in Oriental/Crested Honey Buzzards). Juveniles can resemble common buzzards but typically show finer, more uniform streaking on the underparts and a longer tail. Sexual dimorphism is modest (females are slightly larger). Key identification cues are the long neck, narrow-looking head, and the shape and flight style.
Diet
The Honey Buzzard is a dietary specialist: its main food items are larvae and pupae of social wasps and bees, which it locates by inspecting nests and extracting brood from combs, often after digging into old nests or probing crevices. It will also take other insects, small mammals, amphibians, and occasionally small birds or eggs when wasp brood is scarce. This unusual feeding niche explains many aspects of its morphology (weaker bill relative to powerful raptors; stout, scaled legs and looser feathers to cope with stings).
Habitat
Honey Buzzards prefer mixed and deciduous woodland, woodland edge and mature forest patches where wasp nests are abundant; they also use plantations, riparian woodlands and large parks. During migration, they concentrate at prominent bottlenecks (straits and mountain passes) where soaring conditions and thermals facilitate long-distance travel. Breeding territories typically include old trees for nesting and adjacent foraging areas that support high densities of social wasps.
Breeding
Passage
Winter
Behavior
Foraging & daily behaviour — Foraging is mainly within or beside woodlands; birds may spend long periods perched and then quarter the woodland in low, buoyant flight searching for nests of social wasps. They have behavioral adaptations for handling stinging insects and their nests.
Migration — European birds are long-distance migrants: they cross the Mediterranean at narrow crossing points and travel to Africa for the non-breeding season, using soaring flight and thermals to minimize energy use. Migration timing and routes are remarkably regular, having made several sites famous for their large autumn counts of honey buzzards.
Breeding — Honey Buzzards arrive on breeding grounds in spring. They build a stick nest (often lined with green leaves) in tall trees; clutch size is usually 1–3 eggs (commonly 2). Incubation lasts about 30–37 days and is shared by both parents; chicks fledge after several weeks and typically receive parental care for a month or so after leaving the nest.
Biometrics
| Wing Span | 135-150 cm |
| Body Weight | 600-1100 grams |
| Longevity | 9 Years |
Ad Space
Natural Predators
Adults have few natural predators because of size and flight ability, but eggs and nestlings are vulnerable to corvids, martens, and larger raptors. Juvenile and dispersing birds face additional risks from aerial predators (e.g., goshawks) and from collisions during migration. Predation pressure is one of several natural mortality sources, but human-caused mortality (see next section) can be more significant in parts of the range.
Conservation Status
Status — The European Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus) is currently listed as Least Concern 2at the global level, but its populations face regional declines and multiple threats; some related Pernis species (e.g., oriental/crested honey-buzzards in parts of Asia) have more acute conservation concerns. Conservation listings vary regionally, and the species is protected by EU directives and national laws across much of its range.
Main threats and causes of decline —
- Illegal hunting and persecution: Migratory honey buzzards are shot or trapped along migration routes in parts of southern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East; this is a major source of anthropogenic mortality.
- Habitat loss and forest degradation: Loss of mature woodland and reduction in foraging habitats reduce nesting opportunities and local prey (wasp) abundance. 3
- Prey availability fluctuations: Because the species is highly dependent on social wasps, any declines or seasonal shortages in wasp populations (e.g., due to pesticides, climate effects, or habitat change) can reduce breeding success and chick survival.
- Collisions with human infrastructure: Wind turbines and powerlines are an emerging threat to migrating and foraging birds; several conservation projects are assessing measures to reduce collision risk.4
Conservation actions — Protected area designation, legal protection, targeted anti-poaching enforcement on migration bottlenecks, habitat protection for breeding areas, and mitigation of turbine collisions (timing curtailment, siting) are all measures being used or proposed to help stabilize populations. Continued monitoring at key migration sites and research into prey dynamics and climate impacts are priorities.
U.K.
Conservation Status
Global
Conservation Status
Ad Space
References
- Martín‐Ávila, J.A. et al. (2025) ‘The trophic strategy of the European honey‐buzzard Pernis apivorus during breeding: extravagant specialization or ingenious solution?’, Journal of avian biology, 2025(1). [Accessed 19/09/2025]
- Martín‐Ávila, J.Á. et al. (2025) ‘The European honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus) as an ally for the control of the invasive yellow‐legged hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax)’, Pest management science, 81(4), pp. 2237–2247. [Accessed 19/09/2025]
- Meyburg, B.-U. and Gries, B. (2024) ‘Annual survival rates of satellite-tracked adult European honey buzzards (Pernis apivorus) based on the Kaplan-Meier estimator and its probabilistic extension’, Raptor journal, 18(1), pp. 15–24. [Accessed 19/09/2025]
- Hake, M., Kjellén, N. and Alerstam, T. (2003) ‘Age-dependent migration strategy in honey buzzards Pernis apivorus tracked by satellite’, Oikos, 103(2), pp. 385–396. [Accessed 19/09/2025]
- Dare, P. (2015) The life of buzzards. 1st ed. Dunbeath, Caithness, Scotland: Whittles Publishing. [Accessed 19/09/2025]
CITATIONS
- By IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, species assessors and the authors of the spatial data., CC BY-SA 3.0, [Accessed 05/10/2025] ↩︎
- International Union For Conservation of Nature [Accessed 19/09/2025] ↩︎
- European Environment Agency [Accessed 19/09/2025] ↩︎
- Novia Project Honey Buzzard [Accessed 19/09/2025] ↩︎
