Description:

Stocky, with broad wings and moderate-length tail, similar to Long-legged. Extremely variable, and usually has rufous tail. Generally dark brown above and often rusty on most of underbody and underwing coverts; from below, wingtip and trailing edge of wing dark, flight feathers barred, pale area in outer primaries.

Distribution:

Rare passage migrant through the central and estern parts of Gilgit-Baltistan. Highly variable, but prefers edges of woods and areas where cultivation, meadows or pastures with woods or at least clumps of trees. Found upto 3000m.

Behavior:

Hunts in clearings and open areas near edges of woods; almost always captures prey on ground. Spends long periods perched, scanning or loafing. Adaptable, basing diet on different prey types, according to local and seasonal availability. Essentially a hunter of small mammals, mainly rodents, but also rabbits and hares.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Common Buzzard in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Common Buzzard

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.