Buteo refectus
Silhouette: Lauren Anderson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The Himalayan buzzard (Buteo refectus) is a medium to large bird of prey that was formerly considered a subspecies of the widespread common buzzard (Buteo buteo). It is native to the Himalayas in Nepal, India and adjacent mountains of southern China.
It was formerly given the scientific name Buteo burmanicus, but this name is now known to have been previously applied to the migratory mainland Asian subspecies of the eastern buzzard (B. japonicus burmanicus), and the Himalayan buzzard was thus renamed Buteo refectus.
Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2011. The Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.6. Downloaded from https://web.archive.org/web/20100821172048/http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
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| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jiuzhaigou National Park | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 2 | Langtang National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 3 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 4 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 6 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 8 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Himalayan Buzzard sighting in Chitwan National Park on a given day, based on 60 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 196th most-seen of the 367 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December to February
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Himalayan Buzzard in Chitwan National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March to November, the lowest months. Those are among Chitwan National Park's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain a month against 660 mm in July.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Himalayan 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.
3rd of 9
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Himalayan Buzzard sightings, Chitwan National Park ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Jiuzhaigou National Park (China, about 10%) and Langtang National Park (Nepal, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Himalayan Buzzard is recorded against all the birds logged in Chitwan National Park (60 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.
