Common Buzzard Identification

The Common Buzzard is a large raptor, larger than the Eurasian Sparrowhawk.

Its plumage varies significantly among individuals, ranging from black to white with various shades of brown...

Its head is round.

Its beak is hooked and sharp, typical of raptors.

Its eyes are brown.

The upper body is generally dark brown shades.

The underside is generally speckled with white.

The tail is short, broad, and rounded.

The Common Buzzard emits while flying a type of mewing sound, "hièèè".

Its call can be heard throughout the year.

It soars over fields using thermal updrafts.

As it is not agile and lacks speed, it hunts from a perch: watching from a post, it waits for prey to pass by.

Of all the birds of prey, it has the sharpest vision. Its hearing also enables it to detect the movements of prey in the grass.

In winter, it can be seen by the roadside where the snow melts faster, increasing its chances of finding prey.

The breeding season of the Common Buzzard extends from March to June. Here's a juvenile...

It produces one clutch per year of 2 to 5 white eggs speckled with brown.

It nests in the fork of a tree.

Its nest is a collection of branches, lined with grass, moss, and leaves that it builds itself.

The Common Buzzard is carnivorous and sometimes opportunistic.

It feeds on small rodents, birds, reptiles, insects.

In winter, its food sources diminish: it may feed on earthworms in soggy fields.

It sometimes feeds on carrion.

Its diet varies depending on where it lives: in the mountains or plains, depending on the climate...

Its preferred prey is the mouse.

The Common Buzzard lives in wooded areas for nesting close to cultivated lands or meadows for feeding; in mountains or plains.

It can be sedentary or migratory.