Buteo buteo
Now Britain's commonest bird of prey, soaring over parks and woodland edges.
Size: 51-57 cm | Habitat: Park & Woodland-Edge Birds | Season: All year
A large, broad-winged bird of prey, the buzzard is variable in colour from dark brown to pale cream, usually seen soaring in wide circles on raised wings, calling with a plaintive, cat-like 'mew'.
Large, broad wings held in a shallow V when soaring · variable brown plumage, often with a pale breast band · short, fanned tail · mewing call
Buzzards soar on thermals over open country and woodland edges, watching for rabbits, small mammals, and carrion, and will also perch conspicuously on fence posts and pylons.
Buzzards are now so widespread that they're the bird of prey most people are likely to see over a British park or motorway verge, despite being almost wiped out from large parts of England a century ago.
The Buzzard (Buteo buteo) is a large, broad-winged bird of prey, highly variable in plumage from dark chocolate-brown to pale cream, usually first noticed soaring in wide circles on raised, shallow-V wings while calling a plaintive, cat-like 'mew'.
Buzzards hunt over open country and woodland edges, riding thermals to scan for rabbits, small mammals, and carrion below, and are equally happy perched conspicuously on fence posts, pylons, or dead trees watching for movement. Once confined to the western fringes of Britain by centuries of persecution and pesticide poisoning, legal protection has allowed a dramatic recovery and recolonisation of almost the entire country.
Understanding the buzzard's recovery is one of the most encouraging stories in this journal: a bird once largely absent from lowland England is now the raptor you're most likely to see on an ordinary walk.
🟢 Conservation status: Green (UK Birds of Conservation Concern 5)
Green-listed. Once driven to the edges of Britain by centuries of persecution and pesticide use, the buzzard has made one of the most dramatic recoveries of any UK bird of prey since legal protection began, and is now the most widespread raptor in the country.