Buteo buteo
Silhouette: ChrBar · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The common buzzard (Buteo buteo) is a medium-sized bird of prey with a large range. It is a member of the genus Buteo in the family Accipitridae. The species lives in most of Europe and extends its breeding range across much of the Palearctic as far as northwestern China (Tian Shan), far western Siberia and northwestern Mongolia. Over much of its range, it is a year-round resident. However, buzzards from the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere as well as those that breed in the eastern part of their range typically migrate south for the northern winter, many journeying as far as South Africa.
The common buzzard is an opportunistic predator that can take a wide variety of prey, but it feeds mostly on small mammals, especially rodents such as voles. It typically hunts from a perch. Like most accipitrid birds of prey, it builds a nest, typically in trees in this species, and is a devoted parent to a relatively small brood of young. The common buzzard appears to be the most common diurnal raptor in Europe, as estimates of its total global population run well into the millions.
The first formal description of the common buzzard was by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Milan | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 3 | Cologne | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Essen | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 6 | Istanbul | 🇹🇷 Turkey | |
| 7 | Hamburg | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 8 | Brussels | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 9 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 10 | Porto | 🇵🇹 Portugal |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Common Buzzard sighting in Cape Town on a given day, based on 119 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 120th most-seen of the 196 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.
November to February
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Buzzard in Cape Town on a given day, against under 5% in March to October, the lowest months. Those are among Cape Town's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against 140 mm in June.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Buzzard sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
51st of 69
Of the 69 cities where we can rate Common Buzzard sightings, Cape Town ranks 51st at under 5%. The best odds are in Berlin (Germany, about 30%), Milan (Italy, about 30%) and Cologne (Germany, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Buzzard is recorded against all the birds logged in Cape Town (119 verified sightings), 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.
