Buteo trizonatus
Silhouette: Lauren Anderson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The forest buzzard (Buteo trizonatus) is a species of bird of prey found in Africa, though some authorities have placed it as a subspecies of another species, the mountain buzzard, Buteo oreophilus. This is a resident breeding species in woodlands in southern and eastern South Africa.
The forest buzzard is very similar to the abundant summer migrant steppe buzzard Buteo buteo vulpinus, the head, the back and upperwings are brown, marked out with rufous edges to the feathers the amount of which varies between individuals. The chin is whitish and unmarked, the breast and belly are whitish but marked with a variable amount of brown spots, and the undertail coverts are plain whitish. There is variation and some adults show brown barring along the breast sides and the belly while all but the palest birds show a distinctive white 'U' mark in the middle of the otherwise blotched abdomen. The underwings are white, with a reddish-brown tinge on the lesser underwing coverts and a dark comma shaped mark at the tip of primary coverts. The plumage on the thighs are uniformly reddish-brown, and the axillary feathers are white with brown barring. The upper tail is brown, washed... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parc animalier de Bouillon | 🇧🇪 Belgium |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Forest Buzzard sighting in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 249 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 120th most-seen of the 223 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.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Forest Buzzard in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Forest Buzzard sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Forest Buzzard sightings, Table Mountain National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Garden Route National Park (South Africa, about 10%).
Same genus: Buteo
The closest relatives of the Forest Buzzard that you can see in Table Mountain National Park (genus Buteo, Buteos) are Jackal Buzzard (about 10%) and Common Buzzard (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Forest Buzzard is recorded against all the birds logged in Table Mountain National Park (249 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.
