Common Buzzard (Buteo) [XC625438]
by from Scaldwell, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom (flight call)
Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) [XC814731]
by Thijs Calu from Mykolaiv, Mykolaivs'kyi district, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine (call)
Nest
A mass of sticks, in a tree or on a crag.
Eggs (Guide)
Usually 2 or 3; white, heavily blotched with chocolate or reddish-brown, but sometimes only spotted; spherical. Incubation: about 36 days; by both sexes.
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.
buteo (Linnaeus, 1758) - Europe east to Finland, Romania and Turkey. Also Madeira. Winters in south of range, and irregularly south to Liberia.
arrigonii Picchi, 1903 - Corsica and Sardinia.
rothschildi Swann, 1919 - Azores.
insularum Floericke, 1903 - Canary Is.
bannermani Swann, 1919 - Cape Verde Islands. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Cape Verde Buzzard (Buteo bannermani).
vulpinus (Gloger, 1833) - Northern Scandinavia and European Russia east to R Yenisey, and south to northern Caucasus and central Asia (Altai, Tien Shan). Winters mainly in Africa south of Sahara, and also in southern Asia.
menetriesi Bogdanov, 1879 - Southern Crimea and Caucasus south to eastern Turkey and northern Iran.
japonicus Temminck and Schlegel, 1844 - Central, southern Siberia, Mongolia, north-eastern China, Japan. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus).
refectus Portenko, 1929 - Breeds from the western Himalayas in northern India east to montane south central China (Sichuan, Gansu). Winters to southeast Asia. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Himalayan Buzzard (Buteo refectus).
toyoshimai Momiyama, 1927 - Izu Is and Bonin Is. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus).
oshiroi Nagahisa Kuroda, 1971 - Daito Is (to east of central Ryukyu Is). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Japanese Buzzard (Buteo japonicus).
harterti Swann, 1919 - Madeira.
pojana (Savi, 1831) - Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, central and southern Italy.
The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7
BirdLife International Species Factsheet