Despoiler of Birds’ Nests

The African Harrier Hawk, or Gymnogene, Polyboroides typus, is a bird I have shown you once before, but this time we saw it in action. It preys on nests, seeking the eggs and baby birds. As a result, if it comes anywhere near a nest the smaller birds mob it.

This is a juvenile gymnogene, just hanging out in a tree, crest erect.

The starlings noticed it, incoming from the left, and all hell broke loose:

It didn’t retreat, but you can actually see it flinch in this shot:

The following day, we saw an adult on the hunt.

It was slowly exploring a dead tree, looking for holes with nests inside.

As it hunted, the starlings dive-bombed it:

It seemed to have found something :

round the far side, though we couldn’t see the result:

Then it clambered up the tree on those long legs:

posed:

and flew off:

To close, a not-very-good movie to show you what mobbing involves, for anyone who has never seen this behavior.