Adoptions of Young Common Buzzards in White-tailed Sea Eagle Nests

摘要

Documentation of interspecific adoption of young is rare in the published literature among birds. We survey six cases of young Common Buzzards (Buteo buteo) adopted in nests of White-tailed Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) in central Europe (Czech Republic and Hungary). Common Buzzard nestlings adopted were in good condition and adult White-tailed Sea Eagles fed and cared for them properly. Young Common Buzzards successfully fledged and left the White-tailed Sea Eagle nests. The most probable explanation of this phenomenon is a non-lethal predation of Common Buzzards followed by White-tailed Sea Eagle parental care as a result of parental recognition error. Similar cases of adoption of Red-tailed Hawk {Buteo jamaicensis) nestlings in nests of Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) have been documented in North America.