White-eyed Buzzard
Butastur teesa
Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve & other grasslands
Our story today is of a medium-sized hawk, distinct from the true buzzards in the genus Buteo, found in South Asia. It is a slim brown buzzard with a distinct white iris. The adults have a white throat with a prominent dark stripe, yellow base of the bill, and rufous tail. Dark tips to wing feathers are clearly visible in flight and there is often a white patch on its nape. The usual habitat is dry, open country or forest, where it mainly feeds on insects, rodents, and small mammals. This species is most often seen soaring alone in thermals or perched still.
Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary is an isolated national park in the Yavatmal area along the borders of Telangana and Maharashtra. It lies in the Pandarkawada district of Yavatmal stretching over an area of 148.63 sq.kms sprawled among the Patanbori and Parwa ranges of the Pandarkawad Forest Division. The sanctuary is a compact patch of dense forest cover with hilly undulating territory and various types of vegetation that varies with altitude. It derives its name from the "‘Goddess Tipai” who is enshrined in a tiny temple on the hillside near the Tipeshwar Village within the sanctuary area just about 2kms from the Tipeshwar Forest Guest House.
This still relatively unknown fragment of forest was created when the corridors connecting the forested areas of central India broke down due to the exponential increase in human settlements inside and on the fringes of the forests. Tipeshwar has emerged as a successful tiger-cradle in the Eastern Vidarbha Landscape (one of the prominent Tiger Conservation Landscapes of India) and has demonstrated the potential to populate nearby tiger reserves like the Kawal Sanctuary in Telangana. However, like almost all other tiger reserves in India, Tipeshwar too, is plagued by the usual suspects – it is surrounded by densely populated and human dominated landscape with all the associated baggage that unhindered human activity brings - poaching, cattle grazing, trespassing etc., development – illegal mining, highway expansion etc., forest and prey-base degradation, human-tiger conflict etc. There are also a number of villages within the sanctuary area and their inhabitants are dependent on the forest for their livelihood.
But that said Tipeshwar went through an extensive village relocation program creating much needed inviolate spaces for wildlife, especially tigers, in the region. Additional measures such as the introduction of prey like sambar has helped the increase in the population of tigers. The three villages in the sanctuary - Tipeshwar, Pitapingri and Maregaon - mostly dominated by the Kolam tribe were relocated, I think, in 2014-15. Five tribes occupy the Tipeshwar forest region viz., Pardhan, Gond, Kolam, Navbuddha & Kunbi, of which the former three are said to be aboriginal. The total populations of these tribes range from a few hundred to thousand and are seemingly vanishing
Almost at the heart of the nation lies the jewel of Vidarbh, “Tadoba National Park and Tiger Reserve”. Also known as the "Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve" it is the oldest and largest National Park in the state of Maharashtra and one of 47 Project Tiger reserves existing in India.
Tadoba is a jungle where, early in the day, the sun follows one like a lodestar through the tangled heads of the trees and as the day progresses it burns with a blinding exquisiteness that makes us shield our eyes and bless our existence. The light is lustrous in the open spaces and seemed undistllled from heaven to earth seeming like a laser show at times as gem clear beams filter through the trees. The warmth of it settles over our faces like a silken mask and life is a golden joy. That is the thing about the seraph-light of this jungle; it can sweep down like the handloom of the gods one moment, pure and clear and long of line.
Tadoba lies in the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra state, once ruled by the Gond Kings in the vicinity of the Chimur Hills, and is approximately 150 km from the closest major city, Nagpur. The total area of the tiger reserve is 1,727 Sq.km, which includes the Tadoba National Park, created in the year 1955. The Andhari Wildlife Sanctuary was formed in the year 1986 and was amalgamated with the park in 1995 to establish the present Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve. The word 'Tadoba' is derived from the name of God "Tadoba" or "Taru," venerated by the local adivasi (tribal) people of this region and "Andhari" is derived from the name of the river Andhari flowing in this area. Legend holds that Taru was a village chief killed in a mythological encounter with a tiger. Taru was deified and a shrine now exists beneath a large tree on the banks of the Tadoba Lake. The temple is frequented by the adivasis between the months of December through January.
Home to some of central India’s best native woodland bird species, about 181 including endangered and water birds, the park also boasts leopards, sloth bear, the Indian bison (Gaur), Nilgai, Dhole, Striped Hyena, small Indian Civet, numerous Jungle Cats, Chital (Axis Deer), Sambhar, Barking Deer, Four-horned antelope, Marsh Crocodiles, a profusion of Langurs and Rhesus Macaques and a good measure of reptiles like the Indian Python, Cobra and numerous other species. Tadoba, unfortunately, also has a high rate of man tiger conflict. Several instances have also been reported of wildlife killing domestic livestock and there are villages still within the forest contrary to the efforts of the Forest department so we were told. Note it is man conflicting with nature and not the other way round.
Tadoba is presently home to more than 115 tigers, 151 leopards and more than 300 species of other wildlife. A booming population supported by the incredible and diverse biodiversity making the reserve a paradise for tiger enthusiasts who have the choice of some of the best forest tracks in the country.
This is not a reserve where one will say I saw a bengal tiger, here one will say I saw the Telia Sisters, I saw the huge Matkasur, I saw beautiful Maya, I saw the gorgeous Choti Tara. Tadoba today has probably the highest Sighting Rating Index (SRI) for the tigers in the country with SRI defined as the number of successful sighting safaris vs the total number of safaris undertaken in the prior 28 days.
So that was about the habitat I have seen this distinctive raptor. Now onto the bird itself.
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White-eyed Buzzard
The white-eyed buzzard (Butastur teesa) belongs to the family Accipitridae. These white-eyed buzzard species are distributed in West Asia, Indian subcontinent and Myanmar. It is a medium-sized hawk, distinct from the true buzzards in the genus Buteo, found in South Asia. The adults have a distinctive white iris, a rufous tail and a white throat bearing a dark mesial stripe bordered. The head is brown and the median coverts of the upper wing are pale. They lack the typical carpal patches on the underside of the wings seen in true buzzards, but the entire wing lining appears dark in contrast to the flight feathers. They sit upright on perches for prolonged periods and soar on thermals in search of insect and small vertebrate prey. They are vociferous in the breeding season, and several birds may be heard calling as they soar together.
This slim and small hawk is easily identified by its white iris and the white throat and dark mesial stripe. A white spot is sometimes visible on the back of the head as can be seen in some of my images in the gallery below. When perched, the wing tip nearly reaches the tip of the tail. The ceres are distinctly yellow and the head is dark with the underside of the body darkly barred. In flight, the narrow wings appear rounded with black tips to the feathers and the wing lining appears dark. The upper wing in flight shows a pale bar over the brown. The rufous tail is barred with a darker subterminal band. Young birds have the iris brownish and the forehead is whitish and a broad supercilium may be present. The only confusion can occur in places where it overlaps with the Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), adults of which have a distinctive white supercilium. Fledgelings are reddish brown, unlike most other downy raptor chicks, which tend to be white.
The white-eyed buzzard is medium sized measuring 35 to 45 cm in length and weighing 350 grams. The wingspan is 85 to 100 cm. The female buzzard is slightly larger than the male. It is slim bodied and has whitish iris and throat. The ceres are distinctly yellow and and there is a dark mesial stripe. The head and back are dark and the underside of the body is darkly barred. When perched, the wing tip nearly reaches the tip of the tail. On the rufous tail there is a darker subterminal band. The wings appear narrow and the tips of the wing feathers is dark. The buzzard call is a mewing sound.
The specific name teesa is derived from the name in Hindi. The species was described on the basis of specimens collected by James Franklin who placed it in the genus Circus along with the harriers. The name Butastur was used to indicate that it appeared to be intermediate in characters to the Buteo buzzards and Astur, an old name for the sparrowhawks. Molecular phylogeny studies suggest that the genus is a sister group of Buteoand its relatives within the subfamily Buteoninae.
This species is widely distributed in South Asia, throughout India in the plains and extending up to 1000 m in the Himalayas. It is a resident in Iran, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. A form that is possibly of this species has been recorded in the Greater Sundas, Indonesia but this population is widely disjunct and has whiter and unmarked feathers on the thigh or "trousers" and vent, possibly representing a new form. It is absent from Sri Lanka and is probably absent from the Andamans. It is a summer visitor in northeastern Afghanistan. It is mainly found in the plains, but may go up to 1200 m altitude in the foothills of the Himalayas.
The usual habitat is in dry, open forest or cultivation. They are numerous in some areas, but declining. Apparently, and this is what my guide told me, they are known as the “century bird“ in Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary as they are spotted almost all the time. The name deriving from the fact that you will see this a 100 times before you see a tiger.
This species is usually seen soaring alone in thermals or perched still. Groups of two or three may sometimes be seen. They have a mewing call or falling whistle (transcribed as pit-weer) that is repeated when pairs are soaring. They are vociferous in the breeding season.
In flight, the dark wing lining and white throat are distinctive on the underside.
They feed mainly on locusts, grasshoppers, crickets, and other large insects, as well as mice, lizards, and frogs. They may also take crabs from near wetlands and have been reported to take larger prey such as the black-naped hare (Lepus nigricollis).
The breeding season is February to May. The nest is loose platform of twigs not unlike that of a crow, sometimes placed in a leafless tree.The usual clutch is three eggs, which are white and usually unspotted. Both sexes share nest-building and feeding young; the female alone incubates for about 19 days until the eggs hatch.
The white-eyed buzzard has an extremely large range and population and hence it considered not vulnerable. The habitat loss and fluctuations in prey populations are the main threats to survival of these species of birds. A study of power lines in Rajasthan in 2011 found white-eyed buzzards to be the second most common raptor killed by electrocution after kestrels.
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has categorized and evaluated these buzzard species and has listed them as of "Least Concern".
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