A birds of prey show.

We have many raptors here, and I will share some in flight.

First a Harrier Hawk, then a couple of Ravens and finally a Jackal Buzzard.

All of them in flight, and it's always an issue to identify some of them. We were out in a local park during a late afternoon, and I decided to try my luck to get the birds on camera. Early morning and late afternoon are the best times to get the raptors over here up high in the sky.

The African harrier-hawk, or gymnogene (Polyboroides typus) is a bird of prey. It is about 60–66 centimetres (24–26 in) in length. It breeds in most of Africa south of the Sahara. The only other member of the genus is the allopatric Madagascar harrier-hawk

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This bird has double jointed knees and it can climb trees.

Now for a pair of ravens.

The white-necked raven (Corvus albicollis) is a species of raven native to eastern and southern Africa. It is somewhat smaller (50–54 cm in length) than the common raven or its nearest relative, the thick-billed raven C. crassirostris.

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The white spots behind their heads are a giveaway that they are ravens.

The beak sizes are also much thicker than those of the crows.

And finally we have a Jackal Buzzard.

The jackal buzzard (Buteo rufofuscus) is a fairly large African bird of prey. The taxonomy of this species has caused some confusion in the past and it almost certainly belongs in a species complex with other African Buteo species. Some taxonomists have considered this species, the Archer's buzzard, and the augur buzzard to be the same superspecies.[2] Many taxonomists consider them all to be distinct, having different calls, different home ranges and variations in plumage. This is a species that lives among mountains, and on adjacent savanna and grassland. It is resident and non-migratory throughout its range.

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If you visit the source links (all Wikipedia), you will find much more details about these raptors and we see them regularly down here in the Cape. I have even posted some of them with their prey in the past on my blog, but I like it much more to see them in flight. We have a wide variety of raptors here in South Africa, such as eagles, and my favorite is the African Fish Eagle, that I have also posted in the past. We still hear the Fish Eagle's famous call occasionally, but that call can travel for miles, and I have not seen them yet this season.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.

Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.

Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.

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