Grasshopper Buzzard

Grasshopper Buzzard

Butastur rufipennis

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Maiduguri

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%

6 Verified sightings at Maiduguri
225 In all 7 parks From 2019 to 2026
May Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Grasshopper Buzzard

The grasshopper buzzard (Butastur rufipennis), breeding in sub-Saharan Africa north of the equator. The grasshopper buzzard forms a superspecies with the white-eyed buzzard (Butastur teesa), rufous-winged buzzard (Butastur liventer), and grey-faced buzzard (Butastur indicus) all of which occur in Asia.

The adult grasshopper buzzard is grey brown above with a darker head and dark shaft streaks on all of its feathers. The feathers of the mantle and lesser coverts are narrowly with fringed rufous in fresh plumage, although this wears off. The grey tail has faint brown bars. The greater coverts and primary feathers are light rufous, the primaries are tipped with black, and form a conspicuous reddish patch in flight. The secondary feathers are rufous shading to dark brown towards the tip, which is white. The chin and throat are whitish, with three black streaks on either side of throat. The breast is rufous and has narrow shaft streaks of black, the belly and thighs are also rufous but lack markings. The axillary feathers are greyish brown, spotted with white or buff. The under wing coverts and wing lining are white. The eyes, legs, and cere are yellow. The... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:10

Cameroon · 1999

© selvino · XC156395 · CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Niokolo-Koba National Park 🇸🇳 Senegal
~10%
2 Tsavo East National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
3 Murchison Falls National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
4 Kidepo Valley National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
5 Tsavo West National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
6 Lake Nakuru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
7 Samburu National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Maiduguri 🇳🇬 Nigeria
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Grasshopper Buzzard in Maiduguri?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Grasshopper Buzzard sighting in Maiduguri on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 57th most-seen of the 65 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Grasshopper Buzzard in Maiduguri?

May–June and December–January

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Grasshopper Buzzard in Maiduguri on a given day, against under 5% in February–April and July–October, the lowest months. Those are among Maiduguri's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against 180 mm in August. November has too few records to rate.

What time of day is best to see a Grasshopper Buzzard?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Grasshopper 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.

Where else can you see a Grasshopper Buzzard?

Only Maiduguri, in our data

Maiduguri is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Grasshopper Buzzard sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.

Which relatives of the Grasshopper Buzzard live in Maiduguri?

Same family: Accipitridae

The closest relatives of the Grasshopper Buzzard that you can see in Maiduguri (family Accipitridae, Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) are Gabar Goshawk (about 60%), Black-winged Kite (about 20%) and Scissor-tailed Kite (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Grasshopper Buzzard sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Grasshopper Buzzard is recorded against all the birds logged in Maiduguri (6 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.

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