Editing Common buzzard (section)

==Taxonomy==
The first [[Species description|formal description]] of the common buzzard was by the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in 1758 in the [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|tenth edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' under the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial name]] ''Falco buteo''.<ref name=Linnaeus1758/> The genus ''Buteo'' was introduced by the French naturalist [[Bernard Germain de Lacépède]] in 1799 by [[tautonymy]] with the specific name of this species.<ref>{{ cite book | last1=Lacépède | first1=Bernard Germain de | author-link=Bernard Germain de Lacépède | year=1799 | title=Discours d'ouverture et de clôture du cours d'histoire naturelle | chapter=Tableau des sous-classes, divisions, sous-division, ordres et genres des oiseux | language=fr | publisher=Plassan | place=Paris | page=4 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6uhAAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA78 }} Page numbering starts at one for each of the three sections.<!--BHL appears not to have a scan--></ref><ref>{{ cite book | editor1-last=Mayr | editor1-first=Ernst | editor1-link=Ernst Mayr | editor2-last=Cottrell | editor2-first=G. William | year=1979 | title=Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 1 | volume=1 | edition=2nd | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=361 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16109001 }}</ref> The word ''buteo'' is [[Latin]] for a buzzard.<ref name= job90>{{cite book | last1= Jobling | first1= James A | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher = Christopher Helm | location = London | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 |page =[https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n81 81]}}</ref> It should not be confused with the [[Turkey vulture]], which is sometimes called a buzzard in American English.

The [[Buteoninae]] subfamily originated from and is most diversified in the [[Americas]], with occasional broader radiations that led to common buzzards and other Eurasian and African buzzards. The common buzzard is a member of the [[genus]] ''[[Buteo]]'', a group of medium-sized raptors with robust bodies and broad wings. The ''Buteo'' species of [[Eurasia]] and [[Africa]] are usually commonly referred to as "buzzards" while those in the [[Americas]] are called hawks. Under current classification, the genus includes approximately 28 species, the second most diverse of all extant accipitrid genera behind only ''[[Accipiter]]''.<ref name= Riesing>{{cite journal|author=Riesing, M. J., Kruckenhauser, L., Gamauf, A., & Haring, E. |title=Molecular phylogeny of the genus ''Buteo'' (Aves: Accipitridae) based on mitochondrial marker sequences|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=27|issue=2|pages=328–42|pmid=12695095|year=2003|doi=10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00450-5|bibcode=2003MolPE..27..328R }}</ref> DNA testing shows that the common buzzard is fairly closely related to the [[red-tailed hawk]] (''Buteo jamaicensis'') of [[North America]], which occupies a similar [[ecological niche]] to the buzzard in that continent. The two species may belong to the same [[species complex]].<ref name= Riesing/><ref name= Clark>{{cite journal|author=Clark, W. S.|title=Taxonomic status of the Forest Buzzard ''Buteo oreophilus trizonatus''|journal=Ostrich|volume=78|pages=101–104|url=http://www.globalraptors.org/grin/researchers/uploads/155/fbostrich_78(1)_clark.pdf|doi=10.2989/OSTRICH.2007.78.1.16.60|year=2007|issue=1 |bibcode=2007Ostri..78..101C |s2cid=6270968|access-date=26 February 2019|archive-date=31 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831200441/http://www.globalraptors.org/grin/researchers/uploads/155/fbostrich_78(1)_clark.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Three buzzards in Africa are likely closely related to the common buzzard based on genetic materials, the [[Mountain buzzard]] (''Buteo oreophilus''), [[Forest buzzard]]s (''Buteo trizonatus'') and the [[Madagascar buzzard]] (''Buteo brachypterus''), to the point where it has been questioned whether they are sufficiently distinct to qualify as full species. However, the distinctiveness of these African buzzards has generally been supported.<ref name= Clark/><ref name= Haring>Haring, E., Riesing, M. J., Pinsker, W., & Gamauf, A. (1999). ''Evolution of a pseudo‐control region in the mitochondrial genome of Palearctic buzzards (genus Buteo) ''. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 37(4), 185–194.</ref><ref name= Siegfried>Siegfried, W. R. (1969). ''Affinities of the small African and Palaearctic buteos''. Ostrich, 40(S1), 41–46.</ref> Genetic studies have further indicated that the modern buzzards of Eurasia and Africa are a relatively young group, showing that they diverged at about 300,000 years ago.<ref name= Clouet>Clouet, M., & Wink, M. (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.</ref> Nonetheless, fossils dating earlier than 5 million year old (the late [[Miocene]] period) showed ''Buteo'' species were present in [[Europe]] much earlier than that would imply, although it cannot be stated to a certainty that these would have been related to the extant buzzards.<ref>Boev, Z., & Kovachev, D. (1998). ''Buteo spassovi sp. N.–a late Mionece buzzard (Accipitridae, Aves) from SW Bulgaria''. Geologica Balcanica, 29(1–2), 125–129.</ref>

===Subspecies and species splits===
[[File:Buteo buteo -Netherlands-8.jpg|thumb|A typical intermediate brown buzzard of the nominate race (''B. b. buteo'') in the Netherlands]]
Some 16 subspecies have been described in the past and up to 11 are often considered valid, although some authorities accept as few as seven.<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/> Common buzzard subspecies fall into two groups.

The western ''buteo'' group is mainly resident or short-distance [[Bird migration|migrants]] and includes:
* ''B. b. buteo'': Ranges in Europe from the Atlantic islands, the [[British Isles]] and the [[Iberian Peninsula]] (including [[Madeira Island]], whose population was once considered a separate race, ''B. b. harterti'') more or less continuously throughout Europe to [[Finland]], [[Romania]] and [[Asia Minor]].<ref name= Brown>Brown, Leslie and Amadon, Dean (1986) ''Eagles, Hawks and Falcons of the World''. The Wellfleet Press. {{ISBN|978-1555214722}}.</ref> This highly individually variable race is described below. This is a relatively large and bulky race of buzzard. In males, the [[Wing chord (biology)|wing chord]] ranges from {{cvt|350|to|418|mm}} and the tail from {{cvt|194|to|223|mm}}. In comparison, the larger female has a wing chord measuring {{cvt|374|to|432|mm}} and tail length of {{cvt|193|to|236|mm}}. In both sexes, the [[Tarsus (skeleton)|tarsus]] measures {{cvt|69|to|83|mm}} in length.<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= Cramp/> As illustrated by average body mass, sizes in the nominate race of common buzzard seem to confirm to [[Bergmann's rule]], increasing to the north and decreasing closer to the [[Equator]].<ref name= CRC2>''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses, 2nd Edition'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (2008), {{ISBN|978-1-4200-6444-5}}.</ref> In southern [[Norway]], the mean weight of males was reportedly {{cvt|740|g|lb}}, while that of females was {{cvt|1100|g|lb}}.<ref name= Site>Selas, V. (1997). ''Nest-site selection by four sympatric forest raptors in southern Norway''. Journal of Raptor Research, 31, 16–25.</ref> British buzzards were of intermediate size, 214 males averaging {{cvt|781|g|lb}} and 261 females averaging {{cvt|969|g|lb}}.<ref name= CRC2/> Birds to the south in [[Spain]] were smaller, averaging {{cvt|662|g|lb}} in 22 males and {{cvt|800|g|lb}} in 30 females.<ref>Zuberogoitia, I., Martínez, J. A., Zabala, J., Martínez, J. E., Castillo, I., Azkona, A., & Hidalgo, S. (2005). ''Sexing, ageing and moult of Buzzards Buteo buteo in a southern European area''. Ringing & Migration, 22(3), 153–158.</ref> Cramp and Simmons (1980) listed the mean body mass overall of nominate buzzards in Europe overall as {{cvt|828|g|lb}} in males and {{cvt|1052|g|lb}} in females.<ref name= Cramp/>
[[File:Buteo buteo rotschildi MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.89.4.jpg|thumb| ''Buteo buteo rothschildi'' – [[MHNT]]]]
* ''B. b. rothschildi'': This proposed race is native to the [[Azores]] islands. It is generally considered a valid subspecies.<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= Cramp/><ref name= James>James, A. H. (1984). ''Geographic variation in the buzzard Buteo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758): mid-Atlantic and west Mediterranean islands (Aves: Accipitridae)''. Beaufortia, 34(4), 101–116.</ref> This race differs from a typical intermediate of the nominate in being a darker, colder brown both above and below, closer to the darker individuals of the nominate. It averages smaller than most nominate buzzards. The [[Wing chord (biology)|wing chord]] of males ranges from {{cvt|343|to|365|mm}} while that of females ranges from {{cvt|362|to|393|mm}}.<ref name=Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= James/>
* ''B. b. insularum'': This race lives in the [[Canary Islands]]. Not all authorities consider this race suitably distinct, but others advocate it be retained as a full subspecies.<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= James/> It is typically of richer brown above and more heavily streaked below compared to nominate birds. It is similar in size to ''B. b. rothschildi'' and averages slightly smaller than the nominate race. Males have a reported [[Wing chord (biology)|wing chord]] of {{cvt|352|to|390|mm}} and females have a wing chord of {{cvt|370|to|394|mm}}.<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/>
* ''B. b. arrigonii'': This race inhabits the islands of [[Corsica]] and [[Sardinia]]. It is generally considered a valid subspecies.<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= James/> The upper-side of these buzzards is an intermediate brown with very heavy streaking below, often covering the belly whereas most nominate buzzards show a whitish area the middle of the belly. Like most other insular races, this one is relatively small. Males possess a [[Wing chord (biology)|wing chord]] of {{cvt|343|to|382|mm}} while females have a wing chord of {{cvt|353|to|390|mm}}.<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Thibault |first1=Jena-Claude |last2=Patrimonio |first2=Olivier |last3=Torre |first3=José |title=Does the diurnal raptor community of Corsica (Western Mediterranean) show insular characteristics? |journal=Journal of Biogeography |volume=19 |number=4 |pages=363–373 |date=July 1992 |issn=0305-0270 |eissn=1365-2699 |doi=10.2307/2845564|jstor=2845564 |bibcode=1992JBiog..19..363T }}</ref>
[[File:Common (Steppe) Buzzard.jpg|thumb|left|The steppe race of the common buzzard (''B. b. vulpinus'') is usually distinguished from the nominate race (''B. b. buteo'') by being more rufous in hue (and more polymorphic)]]
The eastern ''vulpinus'' group includes:
[[File:Buteo buteo vulpinus MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.89.7.jpg|thumb| ''Buteo buteo vulpinus'' – [[MHNT]]]]
*''B. b. vulpinus'': The '''steppe buzzard''' breeds as far west as eastern [[Sweden]], in the southern two-thirds of [[Finland]], eastern [[Estonia]], much of [[Belarus]] and [[Ukraine]], eastward to the northern [[North Caucasus|Caucacus]], northern [[Kazakhstan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], much of [[Russia]] to [[Altai Republic|Altai]] and south-central [[Siberia]], [[Tien Shan]] in [[China]] and western [[Mongolia]]. ''B. b. vulpinus'' is a long-distance [[Bird migration|migrant]]. It winters largely in much of eastern and southern [[Africa]]. Less frequently and often very discontinuously, steppe buzzards winter in the southern peninsulas of Europe, [[Arabia]] and southwestern [[India]] in addition to some parts of southeastern [[Kazakhstan]], [[Uzbekistan]] and [[Kyrgyzstan]]. In the open country favoured on the wintering grounds, steppe buzzards are often seen perched on roadside telephone poles.<ref name="iucn" /><ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= Brown/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?lang=EN&avibaseid=9DD02E31D96B7878|title=Steppe Buzzard – Buteo buteo vulpinus (Gloger, 1833)|website=Avibase}}</ref> It at one time was considered a separate species due to differences in size, form, colouring and behaviour (especially in regards to migratory behaviour) but is genetically indistinct from nominate buzzards.<ref name= Cramp/><ref name= Kruckenhauser>Kruckenhauser, L., Haring, E., Pinsker, W., Riesing, M. J., Winkler, H., Wink, M., & Gamauf, A. (2004). ''Genetic vs. morphological differentiation of Old World buzzards (genus Buteo, Accipitridae)''. Zoologica Scripta, 33(3), 197–211.</ref> Furthermore, the steppe buzzard engages in extensive interbreeding with the nominate race, causing typical characteristics of the two races to mix. The zone of integration runs from [[Scandinavia]] through the European continent to the [[Black Sea]], including any part of the overlapping ranges in [[Sweden]], [[Finland]], [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], western [[Ukraine]] and eastern [[Romania]]. At times, the fertile hybrids of these two races have been erroneously proposed as races such as ''B. b. intermedius'' or ''B. b. zimmermannae''. Intergrade buzzards are commonest where the grey-brown type of pale morphs of ''vulpinus'' are predominant.<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= Voous/> Steppe buzzards are usually distinctly smaller, with relatively longer wings and tail for their size, and thus often appear swifter and more agile in flight than nominate buzzards, whose wing beats can look slower and clumsier. Typically, their length is around {{cvt|45|to|50|cm}}, while wingspan of males average {{cvt|113|cm|0}} and females average {{cvt|122.7|cm|0}}. The [[Wing chord (biology)|wing chord]] is {{cvt|335|to|377|mm}} in males and {{cvt|358|to|397|mm}} in females. Tail length is {{cvt|170|to|200|mm}} in males and {{cvt|175|to|209|mm}} in females.<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= Brown/> Weights of birds from [[Russia]] can reportedly range from {{cvt|560|to|675|g|lb}} in males and {{cvt|710|to|1180|g|lb}} in females.<ref>Dementiev, G. P., & Gladkov, N. A. (1951). ''Birds of the Soviet Union, vol. 1''. Sovetskaya Nauka, Moscow.</ref> Weights of migrant birds appear to be lower than at other times of year for steppe buzzards. Two surveys of migrant buzzards during their huge spring movement in [[Eilat]], Israel showed 420 birds averaged {{cvt|579|g|lb}} and 882 birds averaged {{cvt|578|g|lb}}.<ref name= Gorney>Gorney, E., & Yom‐Tov, Y. (1994). ''Fat, hydration condition, and moult of Steppe Buzzards Buteo buteo vulpinus on spring migration''. Ibis, 136(2), 185–192.</ref><ref>Yosef, R., Tryjanowski, P., & Bildstein, K. L. (2002). ''Spring migration of adult and immature buzzards (Buteo buteo) through Elat, Israel: timing and body size''. Journal of Raptor Research, 36(2), 115–120.</ref> In comparison, weights of wintering steppe buzzards was higher, averaging {{cvt|725|g|lb}} in 35 birds in the former [[South African Republic|Transvaal]] ([[South Africa]]) and {{cvt|739|g|lb}} in 160 birds in the [[Cape Province]]. Weights of birds from [[Zambia]] were similar.<ref name= Gorney/><ref>Benson, C. W., & Irwin, M. P. S. (1967). ''A contribution to the ornithology of Zambia (No. 1)''. published.</ref><ref>Broekhuysen, G. J., & Siegfried, W. R. (1969). ''Age and moult in the Steppe Buzzard in southern Africa''. Ostrich, 40(S1), 223–237.</ref>
*''B. b. menetriesi'': This race is found in southern [[Crimea]] through the [[Caucasus]] to northern [[Iran]] and possibly into [[Turkey]].<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?avibaseid=1BFDDA698BBAD7F4|title=Common Buzzard (Eastern Steppe) – Buteo buteo menetriesi Bogdanov, 1879|website=Avibase}}</ref> This race has traditionally been listed as a resident race, but some sources consider it a migrant to eastern and southern Africa.<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref>Mackworth-Praed, C. W., & Grant, C. H. B. (1952). ''Birds of eastern and north eastern Africa (Vol. 1)''. Longmans, Green.</ref> Compared to the overlapping steppe buzzard subspecies, it is larger (roughly intermediate between the nominate race and ''vulpinus'') and is duller in overall colour, being sandy below rather than rufous and lacking the bright rufous on the tail. [[Wing chord (biology)|Wing chord]] is {{cvt|351|to|397|mm}} in males and {{cvt|372|to|413|mm}} in females.<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= Kruckenhauser/>

At one time, races of the common buzzard were thought to range as far in Asia as a breeding bird well into the [[Himalayas]] and as far east as northeastern [[China]], [[Russia]] to the [[Sea of Okhotsk]], and all the islands of the [[Kurile Islands]] and of [[Japan]], despite both the Himalayan and eastern birds showing a natural gap in distribution from the next nearest breeding common buzzard. However, DNA testing has revealed that the buzzards of these populations probably belong to different species. Most authorities now accept these buzzards as full species: the [[eastern buzzard]] (''Buteo japonicus''; with three subspecies of its own) and the [[Himalayan buzzard]] (''Buteo refectus'').<ref name= Kruckenhauser/><ref>Haring, E., Riesing, M. J., Pinsker, W., & Gamauf, A. (1999). ''Evolution of a pseudo‐control region in the mitochondrial genome of Palearctic buzzards (genus Buteo)''. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 37(4), 185–194.</ref><ref>Voous, K. H., & Bijleveld, M. F. I. J. (1964). ''A note on Himalayan Buzzards, Buteo buteo (Aves)''. Beaufortia, 11(134), 37–43.</ref> Buzzards found on the islands of [[Cape Verde]] off of the coast of western Africa, once referred to as the subspecies ''B. b. bannermani'', and [[Socotra|Socotra Island]] off of the northern peninsula of [[Arabia]], once referred to as the rarely recognized subspecies ''B. b. socotrae'', are now generally thought not to belong to the common buzzard. DNA testing has indicated that these insular buzzards are actually more closely related to the [[long-legged buzzard]] (''Buteo rufinus'') than to the common buzzard. Subsequently, some researchers have advocated full species status for the Cape Verde population, but the placement of these buzzards is generally deemed unclear.<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= James/><ref name="Clouet"/><ref>Aspinall, S. (2001). ''The Buteo population of Socotra''. Falco, 8.</ref>