Buteo for ID, Kolkata, India - December 2021 (1 Viewer)

[sbiswas.geo]

Requesting an ID on this buteo - is it a Common Buzzard or a Long-legged dark morph? Images are not good though, not sure if ID can be concluded. Taken today at noon. Hovering over a grassland in semi-urban area.

 

[sbiswas.geo]

@jalid your opinion please.

 

[jalid]

Impossible to be sure, but if I had to guess something, I would say that it is more likely an Eastern/Himalayan than Long-legged. Somehow it does not give impression of a large Buteo and the wing feathers look quite evenly barred between outer and inner wing.

 

[sbiswas.geo]

Would Himalayan (B. refectus) be such dark brown on the underside? I was leaning towards a B. buteo for this reason.