#COMMON BUZZARD PATCH#

The buzzard eats mainly small rodents, especially mice, rats and voles, but also rabbits and hares. It sometimes flies together with vultures, so animals mistake it for a carrion-eating bird and don't escape, becoming easier to catch.

When it hunts, this bird soars high over its territory it is capable of flying at the same heights of the golden eagle) or perchs on a tree waiting for prey. It is found in mountains, lowlands and even suburban areas, and hunts in forests and meadows. In might be mistaked for a golden eagle in flight, however, golden eagles have longer tail and longer, more squared wings.

#COMMON BUZZARD PATCH#

Wings are broad and rounded, with a white, brown streaked patch on the underwing. There's always a 'V' shaped patch of feathers on the breast. It has a very variable plumage coloriation: from very dark brown, light brown, brown and white to leucistic or albino. The common buzzard is a fairly easy bird to recognize and distinguish. As both terms are ambiguous, buteo is sometimes used instead, for example, by the. In the Old World, members of this genus are called 'buzzards', but 'hawk' is used in the New World (Etymology: Buteo is the Latin name of the common buzzard 1 ). This is a long-distance migrant wintering in southern Africa. Europe hosts the largely resident or only partially migratory nominate form, while Finland and Russia are home to the subspecies vulpinus, known as 'Steppe Buzzard'. Perched on fences and stiles, or even circling overhead, these imposing hunters have been known. Common Buzzard breeds throughout the Palearctic and occurs in a number of subspecies. The word 'buzzard' comes from Middle English bosart which is borrowed from Anglo-Norman buisart which is derived from Old French buison, buson which is derived from Latin būteō which is imitative of the buzzard's cry. Buteo is a genus of medium to fairly large, wide-ranging raptors with a robust body and broad wings. The buzzard (Buteo buteo) is the UKs most common bird of prey.

Common buzzard