Cape Verde Buzzard (Buteo bannermani) [XC718733]
by id from Mangue de Setes Ribeiras, S\u00e3o Miguel, Cape Verde (call)
Nest
A mass of sticks, in a tree or on a crag.
Eggs (Guide)
Clutch Size: 2 or 3
Color: white, heavily blotched with chocolate or reddish-brown, but sometimes only spotted
Dimensions: (spherical)
Incubation: 36 days by both sexes
Subspecies
Buteo buteo (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) was split into Eurasian Buzzard (Buteo buteo) and Cape Verde Buzzard (Buteo bannermani) by Hazevoet (1995). Clouet and Wink (2000) found that bannermani appears to share a common ancestry with an unnamed form of buzzard from Socotra commonly known as 'socotrae'. Clouet and Wink (2000) and Hazevoet (1995) also noted that bannermani and socotrae have a close genetic affinity with Long-legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus). Studies to date present preliminary findings and it is not possible at this time to form a definitive conclusion so at present bannermani and socotrae are treated as conspecific with Long-legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus) but possibly distinct at the subspecific level.
Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Eurasian Buzzard (Buteo buteo).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet