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Glite Dictionary
honey buzzard

honey buzzard

9.0
A large hunting bird that eats young bees and small animals like mice and lizards
  • noun
translation icon : águila de miel
  • The honey buzzard is known for raiding the nests of bees and wasps.

Examples

  • We spotted a honey buzzard soaring above the forest in search of food.

  • Unlike many raptors, the honey buzzard specializes in eating insect larvae.

  • The honey buzzard is known for its unique diet.

  • Have you ever seen a honey buzzard in the wild?

  • Each autumn, thousands of honey buzzards migrate from Europe to warmer regions in Africa.

  • The honey buzzard is known for its unique diet, primarily consisting of bee larvae.

  • After observing the nesting habits of the honey buzzard, researchers noted its preference for wooded areas.

Synonyms

Pernis apivorus
vshoney buzzard
  • Specialized
9.9

A hawk that eats young wasps and bees

is the common name used for the large Old World bird

Surface Forms

honey buzzard singular
honey buzzards plural

Morphology

honey + buzzard

The compound 'honey buzzard' is directly compositional: a buzzard associated with honey/bees, so a B1 learner who knows 'honey' and 'buzzard' can infer it names a bird connected to bees or honey. This follows common noun+modifier compound patterns cross-linguistically, making the specialized dietary detail (feeding on bee larvae) a plausible inference from the constituents.

Etymology

Honey buzzard comes from the bird's habit of raiding nests of 'bees' and 'wasps' to eat the young insects and the honey. So the parts honey and buzzard create a clear image: it is a bird linked to 'honey' because it looks for bee nests, which explains the name today.