Honey Buzzard: 2 Eggs, 35 Days to Hatch & 44 Days to Fly | Africa’s Incredible Wasp Hunter

What kind of bird deliberately attacks a wasp nest — and turns thousands of stinging insects into food for its chicks? Meet the Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus), an unusual raptor whose life revolves around one extraordinary food source: social wasps and bees. Its life begins with a small clutch of usually 2 eggs. Incubation typically lasts around 30–35 days, followed by another remarkable stage of rapid growth. Young birds generally leave the nest at around 40–44 days old and continue receiving food from their parents after fledging. But the real spectacle begins when the adults go hunting. Unlike eagles that rely mainly on large mammals or birds, the Honey Buzzard specializes in finding wasp and hornet colonies. It can locate colonies and dig into them to reach the nutrient-rich larvae and pupae. Its unusual feeding strategy allows a medium-sized raptor to obtain a large amount of food from a single colony. A recent study recorded 82% of prey items as social wasps during the breeding season in the studied population. The parents then bring pieces of comb containing developing insects back to the nest, providing their chicks with a highly concentrated food source. And there is another fascinating chapter to this story. After breeding, Honey Buzzards migrate thousands of kilometres between Europe and Africa. During the African non-breeding season, they can occupy forest habitats across parts of West, Central, East and Southern Africa. Research has even documented changes in their wintering distribution in southern Africa.