Description:

Medium-sized polymorphic buteo with dark brown belly-sides and plain to weakly barred dark uppertail, narrow and weak or absent whitish tail-tip. Typically with variable streaking on breast and brown patches on sides of belly; tail is grey-brown to greyish-white with diffuse dark barring; shows prominent dark carpal patches on underwing.

Distribution:

Common passage migrant and winter visitor all across Gilgit-Baltistan. Prefers open-country habitats, steppe with some degree of tree cover or rocky mountains with scattered tress or woods with clearings; from plains to above 4000 m.

Behavior:

Spends long periods perched, scanning or loafing; also spots prey from gliding or soaring flight; sometimes hovers or hangs on wind; also walks on ground when stalking invertebrates. Essentially a hunter of small mammals, particularly rodents; where abundant, rabbits and hares are important; sometimes invertebrates dominate prey items. Birds can be important, particularly when mammals are scarce.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

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

Seasonal Occurrence of Himalayan 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.