'Himalayan Buzzard' (1 Viewer)

[TimInskipp]

Maybe I'm missing something here, but is there any good reason not to call this a dark morph hemilasius?

Laurent - various reasons: too small (although difficult to interpret from Hodgson's measurements), partially feathered (rather than 3/4) tarsus, lack of greyer flight feathers on underwings.

Further details of this form were given by Portenko (1929, Uber den taxonomischen wert der formen der palaarktischen bussarde. Bull. Acad. Sci. URSS (7) 7: 623-652) which is available from http://www.mathnet.ru/php/archive.phtml?wshow=paper&jrnid=im&paperid=5377&option_lang=eng
Portenko treats it there as Buteo japonicus saturatus var. plumipes (note that saturatus is the form now known as refectus)

 

[jalid]

There is something about the taxonomy of Asian buzzards here:

http://www.caluta.liitin.net/Caluta/caluta4.html

For example, a comparison of the taxonomic treatment in different sources.

 

[Richard Klim]

Eastern Buzzard

There is something about the taxonomy of Asian buzzards here:
http://www.caluta.liitin.net/Caluta/caluta4.html

So, Lindholm & Forsten 2013 suggests recognition of both burmanicus (Siberia & N China) and refectus (Himalayas & C China) as subspecies of Buteo (buteo) japonicus.

[H&M4 treats burmanicus as a synonym of japonicus, but doesn't identify any taxon breeding in mainland E Asia (restricting japonicus to Japan).]

 

[Earnest lad]

Buzzard species

Dear forum colleagues
I am English and used to seeing the Common Buzzard (Buteo Buteo) here in the UK.
On a trip to Sri Lanka we visited Horton Plain, and from the car I saw a buzzard .

Could anyone advise: would this have been the common buzzard buteo Buteo, or rather would it have been a different species such as the Himalayan Buzzard

Your kind help in this matter is appreciated
Ian

 

[Richard Klim]

Sri Lanka?

On a trip to Sri Lanka we visited Horton Plain, and from the car I saw a buzzard .
Could anyone advise: would this have been the common buzzard buteo Buteo, or rather would it have been a different species such as the Himalayan Buzzard

According to Rasmussen & Anderton 2012 (Birds of South Asia), Buteo spp are rare in Sri Lanka:

HIMALAYAN BUZZARD Buteo burmanicus
One dark phase specimen from Sri Lanka.

LONG-LEGGED BUZZARD Buteo rufinus
vagrant Sri Lanka, with recent sight record and old previously misidentified specimen.

...but the range maps show Himalayan Buzzard as a winter visitor throughout Sri Lanka. There's no mention of 'Steppe' (Common) Buzzard B b vulpinus or Upland Buzzard B hemilasius occurring in Sri Lanka.

PS. Grimmett et al 1998 (Birds of the Indian Subcontinent)...

COMMON BUZZARD Buteo buteo [= B b burmanicus/refectus...?]
Sri Lanka: regular, rare winter visitor throughout.

LONG-LEGGED BUZZARD Buteo rufinus
Sri Lanka: winter vagrant to hills.

 

[Earnest lad]

Himalayan Buzzard

Dear Richard

Thank you for your kind prompt and most helpful reply.

As the view of the bird was brief (from the car as we passed by - the bird was perched in a tree) I cannot be certain that it was a buteo species.

Furthermore I am not an expert on birds.

Your helpful information leads me to the conclusion it must have been a non-buteo species of raptor.

Nonetheless I still consider your reply helpful in the process of elimination that one sometimes goes through in order to arrive at a conclusion as to what species has been seen .

With best wishes
Ian

 

[rdcny]

I've been photographing raptors on migration in Nepal for the past three years. Can someone put a name on these birds I will link to? I have done my best in attempting to name them...but would appreciate any advice:

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=17616253
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=17616252

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=17616228

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=17616231

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=14699757
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=14699756

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=17616230
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=17616229

double-clicking on the photos will enlarge each considerably.

Thanks!

Robert DeCandido PhD
NYC, Thailand and Nepal

 

[Microtus]

Hi RD, it might be better if you start a new thread in the Identification branch for your photographs.

 

[Peter Kovalik]

Que-Kun Peng, Kun Zhang, Yan-Xu Wu, Shuai Tan, Fang-Dong Zou, 2014. Complete mitochondrial genome of Himalayan buzzard (Buteo buteo burmanicus). Mitochondrial DNA : 1–2.
Posted online on 11 Sep 2014.

[Abstract]

 

[Ben Wielstra]

The complete mitogenomic data may provide more informative for phylogenetic approach for soft corals phylogeny especially for Buteo species.

Soft corals, that is optimistic.

 

[l_raty]

The complete mitogenomic data may provide more informative for phylogenetic approach for soft corals phylogeny especially for Buteo species.

Soft corals, that is optimistic.

I also didn't know that Buteo species were soft corals...
"The complete mitogenomic data may provide more informative for phylogenetic approach for" looks like a standard sentence that is repeated in "Mitogenome Announcement". Eg., see this.
Here, the sentence was obviously copy/pasted from Wu et al. 2014, but they forgot to change "soft corals" into "birds of prey".

 

[TomDerutter]

IOC 11.2:

Recognition of burmanicus as the migratory mainland Asia subspecies of B. japonicus rather than the name associated with Himalayan Buzzard is based on James (1988). Race japonicus is limited to the form that breeds on the main Japanese islands (James 1988; Nagai et al. 2020).

 

[viator]

IOC 11.2:

Recognition of burmanicus as the migratory mainland Asia subspecies of B. japonicus rather than the name associated with Himalayan Buzzard is based on James (1988). Race japonicus is limited to the form that breeds on the main Japanese islands (James 1988; Nagai et al. 2020).

Given this shows up on the Subspecies Updates page shouldn't the Diary and Species Updates page have it as a lump given B. burmanicus is currently is a species with no other subspecies?

 

[TomDerutter]

Himalayan Buzzard is currently Buteo refectus, I don't think burmanicus is a valid taxon in IOC 11.1

 

[viator]

Himalayan Buzzard is currently Buteo refectus, I don't think burmanicus is a valid taxon in IOC 11.1

From master file;

7916​ Species Himalayan Buzzard Accipitridae Buteo burmanicus Hume, 1875 OR : Himalayas AS Himalayan Buzzard is split from B. buteo (Rasmussen & Anderton 2005; Lerner et al. 2008); correct species name is burmanicus not refectus (Penhallurick & Dickinson 2008).

 

[awiner]

Recognition of burmanicus as the migratory mainland Asia subspecies of B. japonicus rather than the name associated with Himalayan Buzzard is based on James (1988). Race japonicus is limited to the form that breeds on the main Japanese islands (James 1988; Nagai et al. 2020).

Given this shows up on the Subspecies Updates page shouldn't the Diary and Species Updates page have it as a lump given B. burmanicus is currently is a species with no other subspecies?

No, Himalayan Buzzard will now be B. refectus. There's a name change here (and maybe a range change, depending on how IOC treated those mainland populations?)

 

[awiner]

No, Himalayan Buzzard will now be B. refectus. There's a name change here (and maybe a range change, depending on how IOC treated those mainland populations?)

What I'm wondering about is whether those SE Asian winter records of "Himalayan" Buzzard are refectus or burmanicus. Accounts claiming that refectus is merely a short-distance migrant would imply the latter. Anyone aware of analysis here?

 

[viator]

No, Himalayan Buzzard will now be B. refectus. There's a name change here (and maybe a range change, depending on how IOC treated those mainland populations?)

I'm aware of that as as an alternative taxonomic approach for these Buzzards - living in Singapore plenty of debate on what we're really seeing here.

My comment is purely in relation to the IOC update pages

 

[viator]

What I'm wondering about is whether those SE Asian winter records of "Himalayan" Buzzard are refectus or burmanicus. Accounts claiming that refectus is merely a short-distance migrant would imply the latter. Anyone aware of analysis here?

Our posts crossed. I don't think anyone really has clarity on this - whether it's either or both or one of the other B. japonicus races

 

[TomDerutter]

No, Himalayan Buzzard will now be B. refectus. There's a name change here (and maybe a range change, depending on how IOC treated those mainland populations?)

Indeed:

Buteo burmanicus

Himalayan Buzzard

Buteo refectus

TAX

See Dickinson & Svensson (2012), James (1988) and Dickinson & Remsen (2013)