Hatch alert! Augur buzzards are out of the egg...

Tyler and Arusha’s first chick hatched on Saturday. This is the chick who was pipping in the earlier video. As you can see, she or he is quite vocal and doing well. The second chick is on its way out of the egg in this video.

Notice that when Arusha comes to brood, she balls up her talons in order not to harm her chicks. She’s a very good mother! See below the video for more information on Augur Buzzards.


The Augur Buzzard (family Accipitridae, Buteo rufofuscus) is the highest flying hawk in Africa and can reach heights of more than 10,000 feet. They stand 21 inches tall and have a wingspan over four feet wide. They are larger cousins of the red tailed hawk of North America and have a brick red tail, just like the red tailed hawk. Their nickname "the jackal" comes from their loud laughing call.

Augur Buzzards are one of the more common birds of prey in Africa and are found in the East African countries of Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and central Namibia. They diet primarily on reptiles like lizards and snakes, but they also eat small mammals and carrion when need be.

Female Augur Buzzards are around 10% larger than males. Here is a picture of one of our Augur Buzzards used for education, Kee-oo. Kee-oo is a dark phase female. She hatched in 1992.