Buteo brachypterus
Silhouette: Lauren Anderson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The Madagascar buzzard (Buteo brachypterus) is a bird of prey which is endemic to Madagascar. It is a species from the widespread genus Buteo in the family Accipitridae. The Madagascar buzzard is a typical old-world buzzard showing quite a lot of variability in plumage and which is similar to the forest buzzard of Africa and the palearctic common buzzard. They have a dark grey head, a white patch on the breast, the brownish -white vent and thighs are spotted with brown. The tail is marked with broad brownish-black bars. The bill is black with a greyish blue cere, the eyes are yellow and the legs and feet are pale yellow.
Endemic to Madagascar where it is common, except for the deforested central plateau where it is less common, there is some indication that its population is increasing as the forest is fragmented. The Madagascar buzzard is adaptable as to its habitat and is found in a wide variety of habitats including forest, open woodland and regenerating, secondary forest. It can also be found on rocky hillsides up to 2300 metres above sea level. Although it is so adaptable it is still less common on the deforested central plateau... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ankarafantsika National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 2 | Mantadia National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 3 | Ranomafana National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antananarivo | 🇲🇬 Madagascar |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Madagascar Buzzard sighting in Ankarafantsika National Park on a given day, based on 269 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 19th most-seen of the 83 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September and November
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Madagascar Buzzard in Ankarafantsika National Park on a given day, against about 40% in April and October, the lowest months. Those are among Ankarafantsika National Park's driest months, with about 80 mm of rain a month against 560 mm in January. January–March and May have too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Madagascar Buzzard sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Madagascar Buzzard sightings, Ankarafantsika National Park has the highest daily chance: about 50%. Next come Mantadia National Park (Madagascar, about 50%) and Ranomafana National Park (Madagascar, about 40%).
Same family: Accipitridae
The closest relatives of the Madagascar Buzzard that you can see in Ankarafantsika National Park (family Accipitridae, Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) are Madagascar Fish-Eagle (about 50%), Black Kite (about 50%) and Madagascar Harrier-Hawk (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Madagascar Buzzard is recorded against all the birds logged in Ankarafantsika National Park (269 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
