Common Buzzard
Buteo buteo
Common Buzzards are often mistaken for eagles when soaring, but can be distinguished by their shorter, rounded tails and characteristic 'mewing' call.
- Scientific name
- Buteo buteo
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Accipitriformes › Accipitridae › Buteo
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- increasing
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Broadleaf and coniferous woodlands, meadows, pastures, and open countryside with scattered trees for nesting.
- Diet
- Generalist carnivore eating small mammals (voles, rabbits), birds, carrion, amphibians, and even earthworms.
- Range
- Europe, Russia, Central Asia, North Africa
- Size
- Wingspan: 110-130 cm; Body length: 50-57 cm
- Lifespan
- 12-20 years in the wild
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Illegal persecution (shooting and poisoning), collisions with vehicles, and secondary poisoning from rodenticides.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless and shy. Maintain a safe distance, especially during nesting season (March-July) to avoid disturbing parents. If you find an injured buzzard, do not handle it with bare hands as their talons are sharp and can carry bacteria; contact a local wildlife rehabilitator immediately.
The common buzzard ( Buteo buteo ) is a medium-to-large bird of prey whose range covers most of Europe and extends into Asia. Over much of its range, it is resident year-round, but birds from the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere typically migrate south (some well into the Southern Hemisphere) for the northern winter.
Photo: Christoph Moning, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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