161. Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)

As the name suggests, Common Buzzards are pretty easy to see - in the UK they are currently the most numerous bird of prey. It's still always exciting to see a mighty Buzzard soaring over the landscape! They are resident across most of western Europe, being migratory in the northern part of their range. They are pretty chunky, broad-winged raptors with highly variable plumage, which ranges from pale to dark with intermediate phases; in the UK most of our Common Buzzards are dark. Juveniles look quite similar to adults but have dark streaks, rather than barring, on the breast and only an indistinct dark trailing edge to the wings and tail where the adults have a thick black band. Common Buzzards like a wide range of habitats, including open areas (farmland, moorland, marshes and meadows) with woods or scattered trees, and hilly terrain.

Common Buzzard, ©Marek Stefunko, via Flickr Creative Commons.

Common Buzzard painting.

I attribute any shoddiness in this to the fact that I had a mild migraine whilst doing it.