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Magnoliopsida
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EOL Text
"Carnivorous. Mainly feeds on birds like pheasants and crows, small mammals like rabbits, voles and mice, reptiles like snakes and lizards. Eats carrion and is also seen hunting for worms and insects like earthworms and beetles in recently ploughed fields."
Main threats include killing by game-keepers and reduced prey populations.
Only male blackcaps live up to their name, with their black caps. Females have brown caps. They are an extremely numerous breeding bird in the Netherlands. They make their nests mostly in deciduous forests, but are also found in large gardens and parks. They will even nest in the dunes if the trees are tall enough. In the winter, they migrate to the south, although the group that stays in the Netherlands is growing. It saves energy and they profit from the proliferous bird feeding tables. In addition, they are the first ones around to find the best nesting areas.
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Rights holder/Author | Ecomare |
Source | http://www.ecomare.nl/index.php?id=4097&L=2 |
Regular passage visitor and winter visitor?
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Rights holder/Author | Bibliotheca Alexandrina, BA Cultnat, Bibliotheca Alexandrina - EOL Ar |
Source | http://lifedesk.bibalex.org/ba/pages/1362 |
Buteo buteo preys on:
Tyto alba
Arvicola terrestris
Myopus schisticolor
This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.
- Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2006. The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed February 16, 2011 at http://animaldiversity.org. http://www.animaldiversity.org
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Cynthia Sims Parr, Joel Sachs, SPIRE |
Source | http://spire.umbc.edu/fwc/ |
"CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) India Listed Species:Yes. Appendix:II. CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) Global Listed Species:Yes. Appendix:II. AEWA (Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds) Listed Species:Yes. Appendix:II. IWPA (Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972) Listed Species:No."
Alleen zwartkopmannetjes doen hun naam eer aan, zij hebben een zwarte kruin. De kop van het vrouwtje is bruin. Er broeden veel zwartkoppen in Nederland. Ze bouwen hun nest het liefst in het bos, maar ook wel in grote tuinen en parken. Zelfs in de duinen broeden zwartkoppen als de bomen er hoog genoeg zijn. In de winter trekken ze weg naar het zuiden, maar een groeiende groep blijft in Nederland. Lekker dichtbij. Ze profiteren hier van goed gevulde voertafels en zijn dan ook als eerste weer paraat om de beste nestplaatsen in te pikken in het voorjaar.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Ecomare |
Source | http://www.ecomare.nl/index.php?id=4097&L=2 |
The Blackcap is common to very common over most of its range. In Europe (which accounts for ~75% of its breeding range) it is one of the most abundant birds. The total world population is probably close to 70 million pairs (Aymi and Gargallo 2006).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Shapiro, Leo, Shapiro, Leo, EOL Rapid Response Team |
Source | http://eolspecies.lifedesks.org/pages/18119 |
"4,000,000 mature individuals (2009)"
The common buzzard (Buteo buteo) is a medium-to-large bird of prey, whose range covers most of Europe and extends into Asia. It is usually resident year-round, except in the coldest parts of its range, and in the case of one subspecies.[dubious – discuss][The map shows something else]
Contents
Description[edit]
The common buzzard measures between 40 and 58 cm (16 and 23 in) in length with a 109–136 cm (43–54 in) wingspan and a body mass of 427–1,364 g (0.941–3.007 lb), making it a medium-sized raptor.[2][3]
This broad-winged raptor has a wide variety of plumages, and in Europe can be confused with the similar rough-legged buzzard (Buteo lagopus) and the only distantly related European honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus), which mimics the common buzzard's plumage for a degree of protection from northern goshawks[citation needed]. The plumage can vary in Britain from almost pure white to black, but is usually shades of brown, with a pale 'necklace' of feathers.
Systematics[edit]
The common buzzard was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Falco buteo.[4] Buzzard subspecies fall into two groups. The western Buteo group is mainly resident or short-distance migrants. They are:
- Buteo buteo buteo: most of Europe
- B. b. rothschildi: Azores
- B. b. insularum: Canary Islands
- B. b. arrigonii: Corsica and Sardinia
- B. b. menetriesi: Caucasus
- B. b. harterti: Madeira, doubtfully distinct from nominate buteo
The eastern vulpinus group includes
- B. b. vulpinus (steppe buzzard): Eurasia: migrant breeder
- B. b. burmanicus (Himalayan buzzard): Himalayas and western China
- B. b. japonicus: Japan: resident
- B. b. toyoshimai: Izu Islands and Bonin Islands
- B. b. oshiroi: Daito Islands
Birdlife elevates japonicus to species status[5]
Two resident forms on islands close to Africa are often assigned to the first group, but appear to be distinct species, more closely related to the African long-legged buzzard, based on biogeography and preliminary mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data (Clouet & Wink 2000):
- Buteo bannermani (Cape Verde buzzard): Cape Verde Islands
- Buteo socotraensis (Socotra buzzard) of Socotra
Behaviour[edit]
The common buzzard breeds in woodlands, usually on the fringes, but favours hunting over open land. It eats mainly small mammals, and will come to carrion. A great opportunist, it adapts well to a varied diet of pheasant, rabbit, other small mammals to medium mammals, snakes and lizards, and can often be seen walking over recently ploughed fields looking for worms and insects.[citation needed]
Buzzards do not normally form flocks, but several may be seen together on migration or in good habitat. The Victorian writer on Dartmoor, William Crossing, noted he had on occasions seen flocks of 15 or more at some places. Though a rare occurrence, as many as 20 buzzards can be spotted in one field area, approximately 30 metres apart, so cannot be classed as a flock in the general sense, consisting of birds without a mate or territory. They are fiercely territorial, and, though rare, fights do break out if one strays onto another pair's territory, but dominant displays of aggression will normally see off the interloper. Pairs mate for life. To attract a mate (or impress his existing mate) the male performs a ritual aerial display before the beginning of spring. This spectacular display is known as 'the roller coaster'. He will rise high up in the sky, to turn and plummet downward, in a spiral, twisting and turning as he comes down. He then rises immediately upward to repeat the exercise.
The call is a plaintive peea-ay, similar to a cat's meow.
Status[edit]
In parts of its range it is increasing in numbers. In Ireland it became extinct about 1910, but began to slowly recolonise the country in the 1950s, and is now a common and familiar sight over much of Ireland.
Steppe buzzard[edit]
The steppe buzzard, B. (b.) vulpinus breeds from east Europe[where?] eastward to the Far East, excluding Japan. It is a long-distance migrant, excepting some north Himalayan birds, and winters in Africa, India and southeastern Asia. In the open country favoured on the wintering grounds, steppe buzzards are often seen perched on roadside telephone poles.
The steppe buzzard is some times split off as a separate species, B. vulpinus. Compared to the nominate form, it is slightly smaller (45–50 cm long), longer winged and longer tailed. There are two colour morphs: the rufous form which gives this subspecies its scientific name (vulpes is Latin for "fox"), and a dark grey form.
The tail of vulpinus is paler than the nominate form, and often quite rufous, recalling North American red-tailed hawk. The upper wings have pale primary patches, and the primary flight feathers are also paler when viewed from below. Adults have a black trailing edge to the wings, and both morphs often have plain underparts, lacking the breast band frequently seen in B. b. buteo.
Forest buzzard[edit]
The forest buzzard, B. (b.) trizonatus,[citation needed] is another form sometimes upgraded to a full species, though most recent authorities have placed it as a subspecies of another species, the mountain buzzard, B. oreophilus. This is a resident breeding species in woodlands in southern and eastern South Africa.
It is very similar to the abundant summer migrant steppe buzzard, but the adult can be distinguished with a good view by its whiter underparts and unbarred flanks. The juvenile differs from the same-age steppe buzzard by its white front and tear-shaped flank streaks.
The forest buzzard, as its name implies, inhabits evergreen woodlands, including introduced eucalyptus and pines, whereas the steppe buzzard prefers more open habitats. However, habitat alone is not a good indicator for these forms.
References[edit]
- ^ BirdLife International (2013). "Buteo buteo". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ^ CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), ISBN 978-0-8493-4258-5.
- ^ Raptors of the World by Ferguson-Lees, Christie, Franklin, Mead & Burton. Houghton Mifflin (2001), ISBN 0-618-12762-3.
- ^ (Latin) Linnaeus, C (1758). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Holmiae. (Laurentii Salvii). F. cera pedibusque luteis, corpore fusco, abdomine paludo maculis fuscis.
- ^ http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/factsheet/22732232
- Clouet, Michel and Wink, Michael (2000): The Buzzards of Cape Verde (Buteo (buteo) bannermani) and Socotra (Buteo buteo spp.) - First results of a genetic analysis based on nucleotide sequences of the cytochrome b gene. Alauda 68(1): 55-58. PDF fulltext
- Ferguson-Lees, Christie, Franklin, Mead and Burton Raptors of the World ISBN 0-7136-8026-1
- Mullarney, Svensson, Zetterstrom and Grant, Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0-00-219728-6
- Ian Sinclair, Phil Hockey and Warwick Tarboton, SASOL Birds of Southern Africa (Struik 2002) ISBN 1-86872-721-1
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Wikipedia |
Source | http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_buzzard&oldid=651977612 |