The Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) is a medium-sized bird of prey, and a raptor, in the Accipitridae family of accipiters. It is related to the Balkans Long-Legged Buzzard and the Steppe Buzzard. 

The Common Buzzard can be varied in colour from light to dark, although it usually has orange-tinted feathers with dark lines, a red or orange tail, a pale head and white underwings. It has a rounded hear with a sharp, thin, hooked beak and large eyes. It has short legs and sharp claws, called talons. 

It grows to 40-58 centimetres (16-23 inches) tall, with a wingspan of 109-140 centimetres (43-55 inches). 

The Common Buzzard is native across most of Europe, and as far east as China and Mongolia. It prefers woodlands and open grounds.

It is diurnal, active during the day. It is an opportunistic carnivorous predator, eating small rodents, such as voles, mice and rats, as well as lizards, snakes, birds, and insects. 

It can soar quite high for a long period of time. It is a partial migrant, based on food resources. 

The Common Buzzard builds a twig nest in a tree. The female lays 2-6 eggs, which hatch after 33-35 days. The male parent helps to catch food, but the female parent feeds the food to her chicks. The chicks gain their flight feathers after 43-54 days. 

[Location of photographs: Tashkent Zoo, Uzbekistan]

Photographer: Martina Nicolls

Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM