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Thanks everyone for your help here - I will look once more through my pictures to see whether I can find any more pictures of that bird.

I see a marketing opportunity here in the future:

A field guide to wet and bedraggled birds of South Africa

The second edition can be "Fluffy round birds on an ice cold morning!"

Is there someone who can make something out of this pictures and tell me what falcon this is? It was flying together with a snake eagle and a martial eagle in Mafikeng area May 2012.

My guess would be it's a lanner, what do you think?

(Sorry for the real low quality pics )

Possibly a juvenile Lanner falcon

Thank you for your reply Ross, does nobody else want to take a shot?

Next up are these two buzzards, seen in Cape Town last month, struggling with ID (Jackal/Steppe/or....), who can help?

Thank you!

Bird 1






Bird 2

Hi Maurice

Agree, young lanner falcon seem right for the first one , and the other two are juvenile Jackal Buzzard.

As far as the buzzards are concerned. All three of your options will occur in and around Cape town, however, you can eliminate steppe from the mix, because it is a summer migrant and would have left a few months ago. Also steppes (except a rare(ish) all brown form) have a white band accross the chest. Forest buzzard is generally all white on the chest with brown teardrop blotches. Leaving you with Jackal buzzard.

Thank you again Adrianp!
The summer migrant thing is something I take with a little caution since I've seen a couple of birds in SA in May that were supposed to have left already (specially some waders, Ruff, Curlew- & Terek sandpiper etc). But don't doubt about these birds being juv. Jackal buzzards.

Kgalagadi during June 2012

Is this a Tawny Eagle?

yes

Seen in the grasslands northeast of Lower Sabie in December 2010.

Buzzard of some kind?

Steppe Buzzard

Thanks MattAxel,

About 20 minutes before we saw this one, we saw a pair of steppe buzzard that were both darker brown and more uniform in colour than this one and his/her mate (and no whitish facial markings). They were much easier to ID! (Interesting that the two "light-headed" ones were together, while the two "all-dark" ones formed another pair )

( I was hoping for long-legged buzzard for this one, but I sort of knew that that would have been too lucky! )

Is there one or two distinguishing features that you can point out that can make Steppe buzzard ID easier?

The rufus tail (at least this is teh colour that I see on my monitor) on that buzzard bothers me a bit. Have you considered the possibility of it being a juvenile Jackal Buzzard rather than Steppe?

Pity there is no front-shot of this one.

Looks a bit small for a JB.

I'm sure it was just a coincidence that the 2 "light-headed" ones were together, but that is quite funny.
Haha Long-legged is a big ask anywhere in Southern Africa. I suppose I can't 100% rule it out from this picture, but it's highly unlikely, as to my knowledge there have only ever been 2 records of it ever in South Africa.
When IDing a brown Buzzard (Buteo) in SA you should ask yourself "Is there any reason this isn't a Steppe Buzzard?" And from this picture I can't see any reason it isn't, and also the fact that Steppe Buzzard is the only Buteo you get in the Kruger helps a bit here.



Besides the fact that you don't really get Jackal Buzzard in the Kruger (again, not impossible, but highly unlikely), a juvenile bird would have a pale eye, and this bird has a dark eye, indicating it is an adult bird.