Alternative name: Common Buzzard
Includes Cape Verde Buzzard; (Western) Steppe Buzzard
- Buteo buteo
Identification
50-56cm.
- Variable plumage from pale brown to dark brown
- Barred tail
- White patch on underside of wing
Distribution
The Common Buzzard has a very wide range, breeding in Europe and Asia and several Atlantic islands. The species is partly migratory, with some birds wintering as far south as Africa south of the Sahara.
Taxonomy
About eleven subspecies are currently recognized. Often mentioned is the Steppe Buzzard B. b. vulpinus, an eastern European to northern Asian form in which some members are recognizably different from nominate European birds. No major authorities currently recognize this as a full species, even though reports to the opposite effect can be found on the internet.
Habitat
Forests and scattered woodland.
Behaviour
The diet includes rabbits, rodents, ground birds, reptiles and carrion.
Their nest is built from sticks and foliage, sited high up in a tree or on a cliff edge. 2-6 eggs are laid and incubated by both sexes for 33-36 days; the young fledge about 43-50 days later.
Vocalisation
Call: high-pitched mewing.
<flashmp3>Buteo buteo (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
References
BBC Science and Nature
