22. The Long Legged Buzzard

Buteo rufinus              

43-58 cm

Male/female alike

Long Legged Buzzard

Yesterday I saw this magnificent bird of prey sitting outside my window on the Gulmohar tree. The sun was behind it so managed to get only this clear shot before a bunch of crows irritated it off its perch and escorted it out of the locality. The Long Legged Buzzard is a winter migrant to India. It can be one of three different hues – pale, rufous or dark. Mine is of the pale colour. One can identify it by the dark patches on the bend of each wing and the dark trailing edges of the wings. The rufous tail is rounded at the end. The bill is dark and the eyes brownish – yellow; the long legs are yellow (sorry to have missed the long legs in the picture!)

Post 11th March 2013: Yesterday my sister saw this bird in Lucknow! She happened to catch the long legs!

Distribution: The Long Legged Buzzard resides in the arid and semi arid areas of North Africa. It hunts for preys in wide open areas utilising its sharp eyesight. Its diet essentially consists of small mammals, reptiles and even insects.

Breeding: It makes nests of sticks in rocky ledges and cliff sides as also trees and shrubs, sometimes rebuilds nests abandoned by other birds. It breeds only once a year.