# 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.

- **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.

## About

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.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/b1822881-28bd-4f95-a882-9fa0ad31bc16
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/204472
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buteo buteo
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/337150135/medium.jpeg (Christoph Moning, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.