Upland Buzzard

How to identify

Field marks

1. Wings long, tail also relatively long
2. Pale morph has a white breast and dark brown belly
3. Dark morph almost entirely blackish-brown
4. Wingtips and trailing edge black in flight

Voice

A drawn-out nasal call resembling that of Common Buzzard, but reportedly given less often.

Similar species

Long-legged Buzzard

Upland Buzzard is said to be slightly larger and lacks the warmer tones of Long-legged Buzzard; the two are often difficult to distinguish in flight at a distance.

Himalayan Buzzard

Himalayan Buzzard usually has a paler belly and less contrast between upperwing coverts and flight feathers.

Eastern Buzzard

Eastern Buzzard usually has a paler belly and less contrast between upperwing coverts and flight feathers.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: December–January and May–June · Most records: China, Mongolia, South Korea

Upland Buzzard has been recorded at 480 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 9 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

1. Ugii Lake, Ugiinuur, Arkhangai, MNMongolia239 records
2. Muravyevka ParkRussia181 records
3. Khurkh Bird Ringing Station, Khentii, MNMongolia179 records

Countries and regions with the most records

ChinaMongoliaSouth KoreaRussiaBhutanNepalKyrgyzstanKazakhstan

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The upland buzzard (Buteo hemilasius) is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. The largest species of the Buteo genus, this buzzard lives in mountainous grassy and rocky areas in areas of Central Asia, northern South Asia and East Asia from Kazakhstan to Korea. The upland buzzard is migratory but typically covers a short distance apparently to avoid snow cover that may hamper prey capture.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions