Common buzzard Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Common buzzard

Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Class:	Aves
Order:	Accipitriformes
Family:	Accipitridae
Genus:	Buteo
Binomial name
*Buteo buteo* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Dark green: All-year distribution Light green/blue: Breeding/winter range of Steppe Buzzard.

A common buzzard, also known as Buteo buteo.

The common buzzard (Buteo buteo) is a type of bird of prey. These birds are very common across the Old World, which includes most of Europe and parts of Asia. They are about 51 to 57 centimeters long. When their wings are spread out, they can measure between 110 and 150 centimeters (about 48 to 60 inches). Common buzzards can be many different colors, from almost pure white to black. Most often, they are a shade of brown.

About the Common Buzzard
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About the Common Buzzard

Common buzzards are strong hunters. They are known for their sharp eyesight and powerful talons. These birds play an important role in their ecosystems. They help control the populations of small animals.

What They Look Like

Common buzzards have wide, rounded wings and a short tail. Their feathers can vary a lot in color. Some are very dark brown, while others are light brown or even creamy white. This wide range of colors can sometimes make them hard to identify. Even with different colors, they all have the same general shape and size.

A typical brown common buzzard in the Netherlands.

Where They Live and Hunt

Common buzzards like to build their nests in woodland areas. They prefer forests or woods that are close to open land. This open land is where they do most of their hunting. You might see them flying high in circles, looking for food. They also like to perch on trees or poles, watching for prey.

What They Eat

These birds mainly eat small animals. Their diet includes insects and rodents like mice and voles. They also hunt small birds and eat eggs. Sometimes, they can catch larger prey. This might include adult grouse or even rabbits. You might even see them walking in recently ploughed fields. They do this to find worms and insects that have been brought to the surface.

Family Life

Common buzzards usually do not fly in large flocks. However, you might see a few of them together. This can happen during their migration journeys. It also happens in places where there is a lot of good food. Once a pair of buzzards finds each other, they usually stay together for their whole lives. They work together to build nests and raise their young.

Different Kinds of Buzzards

Scientists have described many different types of common buzzards. These are called subspecies. Some experts believe there are around 11 valid subspecies. Other experts think there are fewer, maybe around seven. These different types might have slightly different colors or live in different parts of the world.

Images for kids

Buteo buteo rothschildi – MHNT
The steppe race of the common buzzard (B. b. vulpinus) is usually distinguished from the nominate race (B. b. buteo) by being more rufous in hue (and more polymorphic)
Buteo buteo vulpinus – MHNT
A dark individual from Europe
A pale individual in Europe
Although they can look compact when perched, buzzards may appear large and long-winged in flight.
Juvenile forest buzzards of Africa are extremely easy to mistake for juvenile common buzzards of the steppe race that come to winter in Africa.
Common buzzard often inhabit the interface of woods and open areas.
Buzzards spend much of their day perched.
A steppe buzzard migrating through Israel, where buzzards have one of the largest raptor migrations in the world.
An illustration of a buzzard preying on a rodent.
A buzzard with a freshly caught rodent, likely a vole.
A crow mobs a buzzard. Buzzards will readily prey on crows, especially their fledglings.
A buzzard that caught a large Green whip snake but was flushed from its catch.
A juvenile white-tailed eagle being mobbed by a pair of common buzzards over the Isle of Canna, as the eagle will sometimes prey on the buzzard.
The remains of a common buzzard that was preyed on by a Eurasian eagle-owl.
A pair of common buzzards in Scotland.
A territorial dogfight between three buzzards in the Azores.
The much plainer egg of the common buzzard contrasted with that of the European honey buzzard.
Two young buzzard nestlings.
A common buzzard recent fledgling in a pine tree.
A wintering steppe buzzard in South Africa.
At Hamerton Zoo, England
In flight, Devon, England. There are around 40,000 breeding pairs in the United Kingdom
Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden
A young buzzard being ringed
Infertile egg of a Buzzard (Buteo buteo).

Common buzzard facts for kids

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