Buteo (
EtymologyEtymology is the study of the history of words and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages, and texts about the languages, to gather knowledge about how words were used at earlier stages, and...
:
Buteo is the
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
name of the
Common BuzzardThe Common Buzzard is a medium to large bird of prey, whose range covers most of Europe and extends into Asia. It is typically between 51-57 cm in length with a 110 to 130 cm wingspan, making it a medium-sized raptor. There are around 40,000 breeding pairs in Britain...
) is a
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
of medium-sized wide-ranging
raptorsBirds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as any bird that kills its prey with its talons. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh. In most cases,...
with a robust body and broad wings. In the Old World, members of this genus are called
"buzzardA buzzard is one of several large birds, but there are a number of meanings as detailed below.-Old World:In the Old World Buzzard can mean:* One of several medium-sized, wide-ranging raptors with a robust body and broad wings....
s", but
"hawkThe term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Europe and Asia, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...
" is used in
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
. As both terms are ambiguous,
buteo is sometimes used instead, for example, by the Peregrine Fund.
Species in taxonomic order
- Common Buzzard
The Common Buzzard is a medium to large bird of prey, whose range covers most of Europe and extends into Asia. It is typically between 51-57 cm in length with a 110 to 130 cm wingspan, making it a medium-sized raptor. There are around 40,000 breeding pairs in Britain...
, Buteo buteo
- Cape Verde Buzzard, Buteo buteo bannermani
- Madeira Buzzard, Buteo buteo harterti
- Socotra Buzzard, Buteo buteo socotrae
- Steppe Buzzard, Buteo buteo vulpinus
- Red-tailed Hawk
The Red-tailed Hawk is a bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk," though it rarely preys on chickens. It breeds throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies, and is...
, Buteo jamaicensis
- Long-legged Buzzard
The Long-legged Buzzard is a bird of prey. It prefers the dry open plains of Iran, Turkey, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary and feeds mostly on small rodents, although it will also take lizards, snakes, small birds and large insects.It is similar in appearance to the Rough-legged...
, Buteo rufinus
- Rough-legged Buzzard
The Rough-legged Buzzard , called the Rough-legged Hawk in North America, is a medium-large bird of prey. It is between 50 and 60 centimetres long with a 130 cm wingspan. The breeding range is northernmost Europe, Asia, and North America...
, Buteo lagopus
- Ferruginous Hawk
The Ferruginous Hawk , Buteo regalis , is a large bird of prey. It is not a true hawk like sparrowhawks or goshawks, but rather belongs to the broad-tailed buteo hawks, known as "buzzards" in Europe...
, Buteo regalis
- Red-shouldered Hawk
The Red-shouldered Hawk is a medium-sized hawk. Its breeding range spans eastern North America and along the coast of California and northern to northeastern-central Mexico.-Description:...
, Buteo lineatus
- Broad-winged Hawk
The Broad-winged Hawk is a small hawk of the Buteo genus. During the summer they are distributed over most of eastern North America, to as far west as the Alberta province and Texas; they then migrate south to winter in the neotropics from Mexico down to Southern Brazil...
, Buteo platypterus
- Swainson's Hawk
The Swainson's Hawk, , is a large buteo hawk of the Falconiformes, sometimes separated in the Accipitriformes like its relatives. This species was named after William Swainson, a British naturalist...
, Buteo swainsoni
- Roadside Hawk
The Roadside Hawk is a relatively small bird of prey found in Latin America.The breast and underparts of the bird are barred brown and white, and the tail has four or five grey bars. There is significant plumage variation depending on the subspecies...
, Buteo magnirostris
- Ridgway's Hawk
Ridgway's Hawk is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagles, hawks and Old World vultures...
, Buteo ridgwayi
- White-rumped Hawk
The White-rumped Hawk is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family.It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela....
, Buteo leucorrhous
- Short-tailed Hawk
The Short-tailed Hawk is an American bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagles and Old World vultures. As a member of the genus Buteo, it is not a true hawk and thus also referred to as a "buteo" or "buzzard". The White-throated Hawk The Short-tailed Hawk (Buteo...
, Buteo brachyurus
- White-throated Hawk
The White-throated Hawk, Buteo albigula, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which includes the eagles, hawks and Old World vultures. In British usage it would be called a buzzard rather than a true hawk....
, Buteo albigula
- White-tailed Hawk
The White-tailed Hawk is a large bird of prey species found in tropical or subtropical environments across the Americas.-Description:...
, Buteo albicaudatus
- Galápagos Hawk
The Galápagos Hawk is a large hawk endemic to the Galápagos Islands. Known for its fearlessness towards humans and authority over the islands as the only original predator, this raptor has inhabited the Galápagos archipelago for over 300,000 years.-Physical description:Similar in size to the...
, Buteo galapagoensis
- Variable Hawk
The Variable Hawk is a polymorphic species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family. It is widespread and often common in open habitats in western and southern South America, including the Falkland Islands. Its taxonomy is disputed, with some splitting it into the widespread Red-backed Hawk and...
, Buteo polyosoma
- Red-backed Hawk, Buteo (p.) polyosoma
- Juan Fernández Hawk, Buteo (polyosoma) exsul
- Puna Hawk, Buteo (polyosoma) poecilochrous
- Grey Hawk, Buteo nitidus - formerly in Asturina
- Grey-lined Hawk, Buteo n. nitidus
- Grey Hawk, Buteo nitidus plagiatus
- Zone-tailed Hawk
The Zone-tailed Hawk is a medium-sized hawk of warm, dry parts of the Americas. It feeds on small vertebrates of all kinds , including birds up to the size of quail....
, Buteo albonotatus
- Hawaiian Hawk
The Hawaiian Hawk or Io, Buteo solitarius, is a raptor of the Buteo genus endemic to Hawaii. Buteos tend to be easily recognized by their bulky bodies relative to their overall length and wingspan. The Io is the only hawk that is native to Hawaii, and fossil evidence indicates that it inhabited...
, Buteo solitarius
- Rufous-tailed Hawk
The Rufous-tailed Hawk is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family.The Rufous-tailed Hawk is found in southern Argentina and Chile, including the entire region of Tierra del Fuego....
, Buteo ventralis
- Mountain Buzzard
The Mountain Buzzard is a bird that lives in montane forests in East Africa and forests and plantations in South Africa. The latter population is sometimes considered a separate species, the Forest Buzzard ....
, Buteo oreophilus
- Forest Buzzard, Buteo oreophilus trizonatus
- Madagascar Buzzard
The Madagascar Buzzard is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family.It is endemic to Madagascar.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 24...
, Buteo brachypterus
- Upland Buzzard
The Upland Buzzard is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family.It is found in Bhutan, China, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, Nepal, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Its natural habitat is boreal forests.-References:* BirdLife...
, Buteo hemilasius
- Red-necked Buzzard
The Red-necked Buzzard is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea,...
, Buteo auguralis
- Jackal Buzzard
The Jackal Buzzard is a 55-60 cm long African bird of prey with three main subspecies.*B. r. rufofuscus, the nominate South African form...
, Buteo rufofuscus
- Archer's Buzzard, Buteo (rufofuscus) archeri
- Augur Buzzard, Buteo (rufofuscus) augur
Fossil record
A number of
fossilFossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals, plants, and other organisms from the remote past. The totality of fossils, both discovered and undiscovered, and their placement in fossiliferous rock formations and sedimentary layers is known as the fossil record...
species have been discovered, mainly in North America. Some are placed here primarily based on considerations of
biogeographyBiogeography is the study of the distribution of biodiversity over space and time. It aims to reveal where organisms live, and at what abundance....
,
Buteo being somewhat hard to distinguish from
Geranoaetus based on
osteologyOsteology is the scientific study of bones. A subdiscipline of anthropology and archeology, osteology is a detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, morphology, function, disease, pathology, the process of ossification , the resistance and hardness of bones , etc...
alone:
- Buteo fluviaticus (Brule Middle Oligocene of Wealt County, USA) - possibly same as B. grangeri
- Buteo grangeri (Brule Middle Oligocene of Washabaugh County, USA)
- Buteo antecursor (Brule Late Oligocene)
- ?Buteo sp. (Brule Late Oligocene of Washington County, USA)
- Buteo ales (Agate Fossil Beds Early Miocene of Sioux County, USA) - formerly in Geranospiza or Geranoaetus
- Buteo typhoius (Olcott Early ?- Snake Creek Late Miocene of Sioux County, USA)
- Buteo pusillus (Middle Miocene of Grive-Saint-Alban, France)
- Buteo sp. (Middle Miocene of Grive-Saint-Alban, France - Early Pleistocene of Bacton, England)
- Buteo contortus (Snake Creek Late Miocene of Sioux County, USA) - formerly in Geranoaetus
- Buteo spassovi (Late Miocene of Chadžidimovo, Bulgaria)
- Buteo musculosus (Miocene of Argentina) - formerly in Thegornis
- Buteo conterminus (Snake Creek Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Sioux County, USA) - formerly in Geranoaetus
- Buteo sp. (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Lee Creek Mine, USA)
- Buteo sanya (Late Pleistocene of Luobidang Cave, China)
An unidentifiable accipitrid that occurred on
IbizaIbiza is an island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Iberian Peninsula Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses...
in the Late Pliocene/
Early PleistoceneCalabrian is a subdivision of the Pleistocene Epoch of the Geologic time scale. The beginning of the stage is defined at 1.806 Ma . The end of the stage is defined by the last magnetic pole reversal 781,000 ± 5,000 years ago. Originally the Calabrian was a European faunal stage primarily based on...
may also have been a
Buteo. If this is so, the bird can be expected to aid in untangling the complicated
evolutionIn biology, evolution is change in the genetic material of a population of organisms from one generation to the next. Though changes produced in any one generation are normally small, differences accumulate with each generation and can, over time, cause substantial changes in the population, a...
ary history of the
Common BuzzardThe Common Buzzard is a medium to large bird of prey, whose range covers most of Europe and extends into Asia. It is typically between 51-57 cm in length with a 110 to 130 cm wingspan, making it a medium-sized raptor. There are around 40,000 breeding pairs in Britain...
group.
The prehistoric species
"Aquila" danana,
Buteogallus fragilis (Fragile Eagle), and
Spizaetus grinnelli were at one time also placed in
Buteo.