Long-legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus) [XC661276]
by Albert Lastukhin from Lesbos, North Aegean Region, Decentralized Administration of the Aegean, Greece (call)
Long-legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus) [XC307995]
by Nikolay Sariev from Ilinska Ossoyna, Strelcha, Pazardzhik Province, Bulgaria (call)
Subspecies
Buteo buteo (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) was split into Common 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.
Forms superspecies with Upland Buzzard (Buteo hemilasius). Sometimes considered conspecific with Upland Buzzard (Buteo hemilasius). Subspecies cirtensis may be separate species.
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
rufinus (Cretzschmar, 1827) - South-eastern Europe and Asia Minor eastern through Iran and Afghanistan to north-western Mongolia and south to north-western India (Garhwal). Winters to north-eastern Africa and northern India.
cirtensis (Levaillant, J, 1850) - Northern Africa, from Mauritania to Egypt, Arabia.