Buzzard sp - Horton's Plain, Sri Lanka Nov 2023 (1 Viewer)

[Muppit17]

I would like some help in the identification of the Buzzard sp photographed on Horton's Plain 10 days ago. Historically it has been considered that Himalayan Buzzard wintered here and this is how it was called by local guides. I had my doubts as it didn't attune with my memories of that taxon from Bhutan. According to the local eBird reviewer "The species you reported was flagged for review and does not occur in Sri Lanka. Earlier it was believed that Himalayan Buzzard is the Buteo that occurs here but with observations in last two decades or so, now its widely accepted that Common Buzzard (Steppe) is the one visiting Sri Lanka. However this has not updated in most of the literature yet. Only other Buteo we get here is Long-legged Buzzard which is rare. I hope you would change this to Common Buzzard if you feel that is the right thing to do."

The reference material eg Raptors of the World is hampered by not fully recognising the split of Himalayan.

Returning to the bird itself - it is an obvious dark phase- relatively short, broad wings and a subterminal band on the tail. There is no sense of any of the rufous typical of 'vulpinus' and the upper wing pattern is 'odd' for that form IMHO. However, I am not sure that I have seen a vulpinus that is this dark.

Structurally the bird seems wrong for LL Buzzard, even if some of the plumage seems a better fit.

Any pointers would be most welcome.

 

[Brian J Small]

eBird/Birds of the World is in a bit of a mess re Buteos in Sri Lanka: the map in BOW shows Eastern Buzzard as present, but all images of Buteos in eBird gallery are under Common (Steppe) Buzzard, however under this species in BOW the map for Sri Lanka is blank.

Several images under Steppe Buzzard in eBird matches your closely, e.g. - ML610994243 - Common Buzzard (Steppe) - Macaulay Library

 

[Muppit17]

eBird/Birds of the World is in a bit of a mess re Buteos in Sri Lanka: the map in BOW shows Eastern Buzzard as present, but all images of Buteos in eBird gallery are under Common (Steppe) Buzzard, however under this species in BOW the map for Sri Lanka is blank.

Several images under Steppe Buzzard in eBird matches your closely, e.g. - ML610994243 - Common Buzzard (Steppe) - Macaulay Library

Thank you Brian - I suspect this is the same bird that I saw, and as you say the identification to species is confused in Sri Lanka. I suspect that this has been allocated to vulpinus on the revised basis that is what is now 'supposed' to be there. I must have seen thousands of vulpinus and yet this one stuck with me as being odd, probably because it is from the furthest eastern population and also because it a dark phase (& very dark).

I still am struggling to find a reference that matches the plumage.

 

[Muppit17]

I took the liberty of sending the photos to Dick Forsman to see what he thought and here is his reply

"The Sri Lankan is interesting. Over the past years I’ve been sent many buzzards from SE Asia for comment and it seems no one really knows them. Some look like Steppe while others don’t. To me this one could be a Himalayan, with the rounded wings and grayish upper wing remiges, but I don’t know these small SE Asian buzzards well enough myself. Does not look like the Steppes I’m used to seeing.

There is a paper in preparation on the id. of these buzzards, but don’t know when it is due, or how helpful it will be. It is treating Himalayan and Eastern as forms of the same species, which was new to me for starters! I understand that the breeding ranges of the various forms (Steppe, Himalayan and Eastern) are not known in sufficient detail, and surely nobody knows what is happening wherever two forms meet? Much more studies in the breeding areas are needed before we can attempt to identify them on passage or wintering. Still lots to do, which is great "

Not sure where this leaves us - if any one knows anything more about the paper I would be interested in learning more

 

[01101001]

It is treating Himalayan and Eastern as forms of the same species

Eastern Buzzard winters is Sri Lanka according to the newest Cornell x BirdLife map; no such records on eBird yet, but there is the option to mark a bird as Common/Himalayan/Eastern Buzzard (Buteo buteo/refectus/japonicus) in the database

 

[THE_FERN]

Eastern Buzzard winters is Sri Lanka according to the newest Cornell x BirdLife map; no such records on eBird yet, but there is the option to mark a bird as Common/Himalayan/Eastern Buzzard (Buteo buteo/refectus/japonicus) in the database

Is it me or does that look like a weird disjunction?

I.e. no-one has any idea.

 

[Muppit17]

Is it me or does that look like a weird disjunction?

I.e. no-one has any idea.

Well it matches my reaction when I saw the bird ........................ defo a buzzard!

As for species - it does appear that there are plenty of ideas, but the actual distinctive features of the three migratory species are not nailed down, and perhaps even what is considered a species is in flux.

 

[stevethehydra]

I'm wondering if this bird was seen in the UK/western Europe, would it be seen as anything other than a dark Common Buzzard? Or would the uniformly dark underparts be striking enough for people to suspect something outside the ordinary?

 

[01101001]

It is similar to the dark-phase Long-legged Buzzard here:

Plate 13 - Buzzards, Kites and Osprey - A Field Guide to Birds of Armenia ::Acopian Center for the Environment

Obviously, no idea whether this is incidental or actual.

(That's the source I consult, so I think I would take note of the uniformly dark underparts if I had good views. Again, I might be overinterpreting it.)

EDIT:

Long-legged Buzzard - A Field Guide to Birds of Armenia ::Acopian Center for the Environment

 

[Muppit17]

I'm wondering if this bird was seen in the UK/western Europe, would it be seen as anything other than a dark Common Buzzard? Or would the uniformly dark underparts be striking enough for people to suspect something outside the ordinary?

In my opinion, there is enough here (particularly the upper wing pattern) to ring alarm bells. However, I would agree that it would be likely to be overlooked as most dont look closely at Buzzards - except on a slow birding day.

 

[Muppit17]

It is similar to the dark-phase Long-legged Buzzard here:

Plate 13 - Buzzards, Kites and Osprey - A Field Guide to Birds of Armenia ::Acopian Center for the Environment

Obviously, no idea whether this is incidental or actual.

(That's the source I consult, so I think I would take note of the uniformly dark underparts if I had good views. Again, I might be overinterpreting it.)

EDIT:

Long-legged Buzzard - A Field Guide to Birds of Armenia ::Acopian Center for the Environment

Having lived in the Middle East and lead tours in Central Asia, from my personal experience the bird here structurally does not match LL Buzzard. As I mentioned in my original post, some of the plumage details appear to be better match but the bird does not have the long wings, relatively longer tail and overall eagle-like jizz of LL Buzzard.

As for Western LL Buzzard (Atlas Buzzard or whatever it may be called now or in the near future) it is closer, but I have never seen one totally missing at least some rufous tones. It is certainly closer in structure but still there are clear differences.