Lizard Buzzard ( Kaupifalco monogrammicus, family: Accipitridae)

lizard buzzard kruger national park birds The Lizard Buzzard (Latin name Kaupifalco monogrammicus) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 154 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 507 also a picture of the Lizard Buzzard on page 433. The Lizard Buzzard belongs to the family of birds classified as Accipitridae.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Lizard Buzzard is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park.

In terms of distribution of the Lizard Buzzard in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Lizard Buzzard : see above distribution map.

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

The Lizard Buzzard is a bird a little bit bigger than a starling. The height of the Lizard Buzzard is about 37 cms and its weight is about 245 gms

The male and female Lizard Buzzard have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is grey.
  • Eye is brown.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is white.
  • Back is grey.
  • Legs are orange.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Lizard Buzzard feeds on the ground, and on the wing mainly

Reptiles

Smaller animals

Invertebrates

Aquatic life forms

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Lizard Buzzard is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Kaupifalco monogrammicus will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Lizard Buzzard is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 1 to 3

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Lizard Buzzard are: woodlands

You will normally see the Lizard Buzzard by itself rather than in the company of birds of the same species.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... uKlebe

Afrikaans ...Akkedisvalk

German ... Sperberbussard

Portuguese ... Gavio-papa-lagartos

French ... Autour unibande

Dutch ... Hagedisbuizerd

First bird in list | Previous bird viewed | Next KNP bird | Last bird in list

For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 154

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za