White-eyed Buzzard
Butastur teesa (Franklin, 1831)
≈45 cmLength93 cmWingspan325 gWeight
The white-eyed buzzard (Butastur teesa) is a medium-sized hawk, distinct from the true buzzards in the genus Buteo, found in South Asia.
Busiest months: January–February and October · Most records: India, Nepal, Bangladesh
Looks like Grey-faced Buzzard
How to identify
Field marks
- Adult iris white
- Adult throat white, with a dark central streak
- Adult tail chestnut, with a dark band near the tail tip
- Cere conspicuously yellow; head dark
Male, female and young
Juvenile iris brown, forehead whitish; may have a broad supercilium.
Voice
A plaintive, cat-like call or descending whistle, rendered “pit-weer”, repeated in pairs while circling.
Similar species
Where and when it's recorded
Busiest months: January–February and October · Most records: India, Nepal, Bangladesh
White-eyed Buzzard has been recorded at 153 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 6 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Tal Chhapar SanctuaryIndia641 records
- Jayamangali Blackbuck Conservation ReserveIndia556 records
- Bharatpur – Keoladeo Ghana NPIndia342 records
More places
- Bandhavgarh NPIndia301 records
- Byatarayana Doddi KereIndia291 records
- Hessaraghatta KereIndia281 records
- Valley SchoolIndia233 records
- GKVK CampusIndia226 records
- Sinhagad ValleyIndia211 records
- Vetal Tekdi/HillIndia194 records
Countries and regions with the most records
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 white-eyed buzzard (Butastur teesa) is a medium-sized hawk, distinct from the true buzzards in the genus Buteo, found in South Asia. Adults have a rufous tail, a distinctive white iris, and a white throat bearing a dark mesial stripe bordered. The head is brown and the median coverts of the upper wing are pale.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the White-eyed Buzzard?
The White-eyed Buzzard is about ≈45 cm long, with a wingspan of 93 cm and weighs around 325 g.
Where does the White-eyed Buzzard live?
Its breeding range: Oriental: Pakistan to Myanmar. It is most often recorded in India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
When is the best time to see the White-eyed Buzzard?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in January, February and October (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the White-eyed Buzzard endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the White-eyed Buzzard as Least Concern.
What does the White-eyed Buzzard eat?
Main food: Vertebrate prey.
What family is the White-eyed Buzzard in?
It belongs to the family Kites, Hawks, Eagles (Accipitridae), order Accipitriformes.
At a glance
- Length
- ≈45 cm
- Wingspan
- 93 cm
- Weight
- 325 g
- Habitat
- Woodland
- Diet
- Vertebrate prey
- Lifestyle
- Perches in trees
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 295 mm
- Tail
- 191 mm
- Bill
- 31 mm
- Tarsus
- 60 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Oriental: Pakistan to Myanmar
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Accipitriformes
- Family
- Kites, Hawks, Eagles Accipitridae
- Genus
- Butastur
Other birds in the genus Butastur
Rufous-winged BuzzardButastur liventer
Grasshopper BuzzardButastur rufipennis
Grey-faced BuzzardButastur indicus
Pearl KiteGampsonyx swainsonii
Scissor-tailed KiteChelictinia riocourii
White-tailed KiteElanus leucurus
Black-winged KiteElanus caeruleus
Black-shouldered KiteElanus axillaris
Letter-winged KiteElanus scriptus
African Harrier-HawkPolyboroides typus
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by hnshankar. ↗
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