Bird 🦅
🦅
Buteo buteo
| Size | 51–57 cm About the size of a large chicken |
|---|---|
| Weight | 550 g–1.3 kg About the weight of a bag of sugar |
| Lifespan | 12 years |
| Rarity | Common |
| M vs F | Females are significantly larger; both are brown above with pale mottled underparts |
| Habitat | Woodland with adjacent open moorland, farmland, hillsides |
| Best time | Year-round; most visible soaring on thermals in spring |
| Conservation | UK: Green LC |
Did you know?
The Buzzard is now the UK's most common bird of prey — once persecuted almost to extinction, numbers have recovered spectacularly since legal protection in 1954
The Buzzard is now the UK's most common bird of prey — once persecuted almost to extinction, numbers have recovered spectacularly since legal protection in 1954
More for experts
They are remarkably flexible hunters — earthworms can make up over 40% of their diet in wet weather, hopping about fields like large brown thrushes
Often confused with
Honey Buzzard (rarer, barred underparts), Red Kite (forked tail, rusty-red), Rough-legged Buzzard (winter visitor, pale)
Honey Buzzard (rarer, barred underparts), Red Kite (forked tail, rusty-red), Rough-legged Buzzard (winter visitor, pale)