No bird of prey strikes fear into small animals quite like buzzards. They are large, cunning, and resourceful. While this classification extends to a wide selection of species, Australia’s Black-Breasted Buzzard (Hamirostra melanosternon) might be the most visually striking.
Measuring nearly two feet in height with a wingspan of five feet, the Black-Breasted Buzzard has a plumage that stands out; black body feathers contrasted with white panels at the culmination of the wings and orange/red markings splayed across the back and shoulders. Black-Breasted Buzzards call most of Australia home and for good reason: they are excellent hunters. It’s not just swooping and snatching small prey, either. These birds show incredible intelligence and tool-using abilities. Watch the video above, and we will explore the topic further.
Location and Diet
Climate change and human interference have severely affected buzzard populations.
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The Black-Breasted Buzzard’s range spans most of Australia but typically areas with less rainfall. Indeed, there’s no sign of them in Victoria or Tasmania due to wetter, temperate climates. They prefer wooded and open areas, but people often see them in riparian forests (wooded areas adjacent to bodies of water).
Diet-wise, not much is off the table for this striking bird of prey. As more generalist hunters, they are opportunistic in their eating habits. While they often eat small reptiles, mammals, and birds, Black-Breasted Buzzards also dine on the carrion of large animals left on roadsides. To find food, they use every trick in the book: watching from high perches, soaring over low vegetation, and even hunting cooperatively with other birds of prey. However, the Black-Breasted Buzzard is most famous for its use of tools.
The Sharpest Tool in the Shed
Though Aboriginals told ornithologist John Gould about the Black-Breasted Buzzard’s use of tools in the 19th century, it took decades for this behavior to be observed in the wild.
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First noted by pioneering ornithologist John Gould in the 19th century, the Black-Breasted Buzzard takes sizeable rocks and drops them repeatedly on eggs to get the food inside. While they have a reputation as nest bandits in general, these Australian birds are often observed using rocks to break open large Emu eggs.
Typically, female Emus lay a dozen eggs in ground nests composed of sticks, leaves, and rocks. They are sturdy, too, but not sturdy enough to prevent opportunistic hunters like Black-Breasted Buzzards. Typically, buzzards pick up 15–65 gram round rocks and repeatedly drop them on Emu eggs until the contents are exposed. A study published in a 1990 issue of Emu-Austral Ornithology found that the accuracy of the buzzard’s egg breaking increased over time. Furthermore, scientists believe this is an instinctive behavior as young buzzards raised away from their parents exhibit the same tool use.
While Black-Breasted Buzzards eat food that would kill other animals, they have some of the sharpest senses in the world. Combined with their unique use of tools, the Black-Breasted Buzzard stands as one of the most intelligent, resourceful birds of prey.
