Record of a Gray-faced Buzzard Eating a Scarabaeid Beetle Larva in its Nest

Abstract

We observed a young Gray-faced Buzzard Butastur indicus picking up and eating insect larvae from inside the nest. Taxonomic examination of one of the larvae revealed it to be approximately 25 mm in length and characterized by a thick and C-shaped body with obvious legs on the thorax and no urogomphi. These features indicated the insect to belong to the superfamily Scarabaeoidea within the family Coleoptera. Scarabaeoidea may breed in nests of the Gray-faced Buzzard, as shown recently in other carnivorous birds, including the Honey Buzzard Pernis apivorus, Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis, Oriental Stork Ciconia boyciana and Great cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo.