Short-tailed Hawk (Buteo brachyurus)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Buteo ("buzzard") brachyurus ("short-tailed")

Adult Light Morph Short-tailed Hawk (Buteo brachyurus) (subspecies ) at Tarcoles, Costa Rica - November 2025 

Featured Subspecies: Buteo brachyurus fulgigunosus
Weight: 385-480g  /  Length: 40cm  /  Wingspan: 83-103cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A widely distributed but scarce hawk that unusually for a buteo primarily hunts birds, although they will also take preys such as reptiles, amphibians, small mammals and insects as needed. Like many other buteos they come in a wide range of morphs, ranging from ones with pure white undersides to entirely dark birds. Unusually for a buteo, they tend to perch in more difficult to obscerve locations from the ground as they do not hunt from perches.
 
Related Species: 
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Buteo
SUBSPECIES: B. b. brachyurus, B. b. fulgigunosus
 
- Sighting Locations -

COSTA RICA - Spanish - Gavilán Rabicorto ("Short-tailed Hawk")
Uncommon but found throughout except at the highest altitudes
- COSTA RICA 2025 TRIP: Seen at Tarcoles

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Long-legged buzzard (Buteo rufinus)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Buteo ("buzzard") rufinus ("rufous")

Adult Long-legged buzzard (Buteo rufinus) at Location - March 2025

Featured Subspecies: Buteo rufinous rufinous
Weight: 1-1.2kg  /  Length: 50-66cm  /  Wingspan: 145cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A large powerful buzzard that breeds in North Africa, South East Europe the Middle East and Central Asia, compared to common buzzards they prefer more open habitats such as steppe, semi-desert and dry shrubland. They are generally specialised as hunters of small mammals and reptiles, and have been recorded following wildfires to catch displaced prey. 

Related Species:
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Buteo
SUBSPECIES: B. r. rufinus, B. r. cirtensis

 - Sighting Locations -

TURKEY  - Kızıl şahin("Red hawk")

 - ANTALYA 2025 TRIP - A single bird seen in the mountains near Side

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni)

OTHER NAMES: Grasshopper Hawk, Locust Hawk
Latin Etymology: Buteo ("buzzard") swainsoni (named for William Swainson)

Adult light morph Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) at Alberta, Canada - July 2024

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 500-1700g  /  Length: 43-56cm  /  Wingspan: 117-137cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A smaller buteo that breeds in the great plains and other open areas of North America.They hunt primarily small mammals and grasshoppers when seasonally available. Fairly tolerant of humans compared to many raptors, this particular individual was perched up inside of a town.  Swainson's Hawks are the longest distance migrant of any accipiter which can be over 7000miles and take 2 months. 

Related Species:
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Buteo
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

CANADA - Migrant breeder on Great Plains
  - CHICAGO TO ALASKA ROADTRIP 2024: - Seen in Alberta.

UNITED STATES - Migrant breeder in Centre and Westerly Lower 48 and an area of Alaska
 - CHICAGO TO ALASKA ROADTRIP 2024: Seen in North Dakota and Montana.

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Buteo ("buzzard") platypterus ("broad winged")

Juvenile light morph Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus) at McKee Marshes, Illinois - August 2024

Featured Subspecies: Buteo platypterus platypterus
Weight: 265-560g  /  Length: 32-44cm  /  Wingspan: 74-100cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A small buteo species that breed mainly in deciduous forest and hunt in adjacent meadows and wetlands. They migrate in large groups which can be over 40 strong in a behaviour known as kettling which makes them a focus of hawkwatching during migration times. They are fairly adaptable predators who will take prey anywhere between the size of insects and grouse.

Related Species:
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Buteo
SUBSPECIES: B. p. platypterus, B. p. brunnescens, B. p. cubanensis, B. p. insilicola, B. p. revierei, B. p. antillarum

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED STATES - Breeds in Easterm US with patches of Wintering areas throughout.
 - CHICAGO TO ALASKA ROADTRIP 2024: Seen in Illinois at several sites.

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Buteo ("buzzard") regalis ("royal")

Adult Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis) at Montana, USA - July 2024

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 900-2200g  /  Length: 51-71cm  /  Wingspan: 122-158cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The largest species of Buteo in North America, and the second largest world wide, the Ferruginous Hawk is a species with a decidedly aquiline bearing. They breed in the Great Plains and Winter in the South West and into Mexico.  They primarily feed on small mammals of which there are wide diversity available across their range.

Related Species:
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Buteo
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

CANADA -Breeds in the Sourthern parts of the Canadian Great Plains.
  - CHICAGO TO ALASKA ROADTRIP 2024: - Seen in Alberta.

UNITED STATES - Breeds in North West, Winters in South West with a resident population between.
 - CHICAGO TO ALASKA ROADTRIP 2024: Glimpsed in North Dakota and Montana.

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

OTHER NAMES: Redtail, Chickenhawk
Latin Etymology: Buteo ("buzzard") jamaicensis ("of Jamaica")

Two Adult Red-tailed Hawk (subspecies B. j. calurus) at San Jose, California - August 2022

Featured Subspecies: Western Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis calurus)
Weight: 690-1370g  /  Length: 46-65cm  /  Wingspan: 105-141cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The most abundant of North America Raptors, the Red tailed hawk fills roughly the same ecological niche as the Common Buzzard - a very adaptable medium sized raptors that will both scavenge and take prey. They are found across every habitat found in the continental North America, limited in the North only by the end of the treeline and extending southwards to te tropics of Central America. They are a popular bird in falconry due to how common they are and being more trainable than almost all other raptors.

Related Species:
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Buteo
SUBSPECIES: B. j. jamaicensis, B. j. alascensis, B. j.borealis, B. j. calurus, B. j. costaricensis, B. j. fueresi, B. j. fumosus, B. j. hadropus, B. j. harlani, B. j. kemsiesi, B. j. kriderii, B. j. socorreoensis, B. j. solitudinus, B. j. umbrinus

 - Sighting Locations -

COSTA RICA
A common resident.
 - COSTA RICA 2025 TRIP: One bird seen at San Gerardo de Dota

UNITED STATES 
Found across all Lower 48 and much of Alaska
 - CALIFORNIA 2022 TRIP: Seen at Berkeley, Monterey,San Jose, Hayward  and San Francisco

 Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Buteo ("buzzard") lineatus ("lined")

Adult Red-shouldered Hawk (subspecies B. l. elegans) at Monterey, California - September 2022

Featured Subspecies: Buteo lineatus elegans
Weight: 550-700g  /  Length: 38-61cm  /  Wingspan: 90-127cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The smaller and less common of the two buteo species seen on the trip, they were nonetheless a fairly common species throughout, often surverying their surroundings from branches or overhead wires for prey. They are more active predatos than many buteos, focusing to a greater degree on rodents and other small animals. The subspecies lineatus seen in California is substantially redder in colouration than the other subspecies, and given that the population is separated from the rest geographically is regarded to be somewhat more distinct.

Related Species:
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Buteo
SUBSPECIES: B. l. lineatus, B. l. alleni, B. l. elegans, B. l. extimus, B. l. taxanus

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED STATES 

Primary found in Eastern US,and a narrow coast centric range in California
 - CALIFORNIA 2022 TRIP: Seen at Berkeley, Monterey and San Francisco

 Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Rough-legged Buzzard (Buteo lagopus)

OTHER NAMES: Rough-legged Hawk

Latin Etymology: Buteo ("buzzard") lagopus ("hare foot")

Rough-Legged Buzzard (Buteo lagopus) at Stone Creek, East Yorkshire - November 2023

Featured Subspecies: Buteo lagopus lagopus
Weight: 600-1600g  /  Length: 50-63cm  /  Wingspan: 120-150cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Probably the scarcest of what are commonly considered "British" raptors, the Rough-legged Buzzard is an irruptive species that breeds in Arctic tundra and taiga which primarily feeds on small mammals, and a poor winter for such species will send them migrating to other locations such as the UK. One of the larger buteo species, it's distinct markings can differentiate it in the field from Common Buzzard. The only Buteo to truely hover, it's hunting technique is reminiscent of the much smaller Common kestrel.

Related Species:
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Buteo
Subspecies: B. l. lagopus, B. l. sanctijohannis, B. l. kamtchatkensis

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - Very rare Wintering species which arrives on an irruption pattern (10-150 birds in influx years)

 - A single individual seen distantly Holme Fen in January 2015.  Another at Stone Creek in November 2023. 

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)

OTHER NAMES: Buzzard

Latin Etymology: Buteo ("buzzard") buteo ("buzzard")

Adult intermediate variant Common Buzzard (subspecies B. b. buteo) at Geddington, Northants - April 2017

Featured Subspecies: Buteo buteo buteo
Weight: 400g-1400g  /  Length: 40-58cm  /  Wingspan: 109-136cm

UK GREEN LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

While the common buzzard once suffered catastrophic population decline as a result of DDT and persecution from landowners, legislation to prevent these issues has now allowed it to become the most common species of raptor in the British Isles.  For an example of this, during a car journey down to Cornwall I will often see more than twenty of them along pretty much every section of the route down. Their large size makes them easier to photograph than they could be, however, I've found them to be oddly more tolerant of cars than they are of pedestrians - the best views I have had tend to be from cars while they perch on roadside fences and trees, while similar distances on foot cause them to take off. They tend to be higher flying than Red Kites in my area, making photos of them slightly harder to get to good quality, but they do also feed on fields sometimes.  They do turn up in a range colour variations, largely in different colour combinations of white and brown, which makes them a bit of a hazard when identifying other similar sized raptors.  I also saw this species on both trips to Spain, but given the much larger number of raptors it shares its habitat with, it's seemingly far less ubiquitous than in the UK.

Related Species:
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Buteo
Subspecies: B. b. buteo, B. b. arrigonii, B. b. rothschildi, B. b. insularum, B. b. vulpines, B. b. menetriesi

- Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - Common breeding resident (57,000-79,000 pairs)

 - Birds seen at various sites including Rutland Water, Pitsford Reservoir and Geddington.

ITALY - Italian -  Poiana Comune ("Common Buzzard")

A common resident

 - SICILY 2018 TRIP -  Seen throughout.

SPAIN - Spanish - Ratonero común ("Common Buzzard")

Fairly common resident.

 - SEVILLE 2011 TRIP: A single bird at El Rocio

 - MADRID 2015 TRIP: Several on farmland North of Madrid 

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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