Buzzard (Eurasian)

Field guide to the most commonly encountered mammals and birds

Here, we provide some basic information regarding commonly observed species (plus some others about which we have had queries).

Feel free to contact us by email if you have any questions regarding species you have encountered on the site.

For more information about mammals, we recommend the Mammal Society's species hub, here. For birds, excellent resources are available from the RSPB (here) and the BTO (here).

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(C) Martin Mecnarowski (shared under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license)

Scientific Name: Buteo buteo

Appearance: Mid-sized raptor with variable plumage. Typically, head, upperparts and chest rich, dark brown. Underparts with varying amounts of white, often forming a pale “U”-shape across middle of torso. Pale, barred underwings and finely-barred tail visible in flight. Short, powerful, hooked beak. Female larger.

Song: Distinctive, descending, mournful pee-yah or pee-oo, often produced in flight.

When heard: Resident. Call may be heard year-round, but most frequent February through April when pair perform display flights over territory.

Example: