Buteo japonicus
Silhouette: Lauren Anderson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The eastern buzzard or Japanese buzzard (Buteo japonicus) is a medium to large bird of prey that is sometimes considered a subspecies of the widespread common buzzard (Buteo buteo). It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the common buzzard, but molecular phylogenetic studies revealed that B. buteo as then circumscribed was polyphyletic, leading to the recognition of the eastern buzzard and Himalayan buzzard (B. refectus) as distinct species. It is native to East Asia and some parts of Russia and South Asia, with some birds wintering in Southeast Asia. It is similar to the steppe buzzard. It is carnivorous.
It includes four subspecies: B. j. burmanicus: breeds in Siberia, Mongolia, northern China, and North Korea, winters in Southeast Asia B. j. japonicus: breeds only in Japan, winters from southern Japan to southeastern China and Taiwan
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... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikko National Park | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 2 | Taroko National Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 3 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shanghai Zoo | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 2 | Edogawa Ward Natural Zoo | 🇯🇵 Japan |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Buzzard sighting in Seoul on a given day, based on 980 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 41st most-seen of the 231 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and February
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Buzzard in Seoul on a given day, against under 5% in April to September, the lowest months. Those are among Seoul's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against 360 mm in July.
Between 2 and 5 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eastern Buzzard sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
5th of 34
Of the 34 cities where we can rate Eastern Buzzard sightings, Seoul ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Quanzhou (China, about 20%), Jinhua (China, about 20%) and Sendai (Japan, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eastern Buzzard is recorded against all the birds logged in Seoul (980 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.
