Rough-legged Buzzard

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Rough-legged Buzzard in the UK

A winter visitor only. It breeds on tundra from Norway east across Russia and reaches Britain in very small numbers in late autumn. Totals swing widely with breeding success, which follows vole and lemming cycles in the north. Most winters bring only a few dozen at best. Influx years are different: about 250 were logged in October 1974 alone, and more than 100 reports came in October and November 2010. Most British birds are juveniles. It has never bred here.

Where and when to see a Rough-legged Buzzard

Nearly all occur in the east, from Shetland and Orkney down to Kent. The North Kent Marshes and the north Norfolk coast are the traditional areas, but no site is guaranteed. Look from late October to March over grazing marsh, dunes, rough coastal grassland and open moor. Arrivals peak in late October and November, often with easterly winds. A bird hunting over one area may stay all winter. A bright day with a breeze is best, when they hover.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Coastal grassland (winter).
Diet: Voles.
Field note: White tail with dark band.

How to identify a Rough-legged Buzzard

Slightly bulkier and longer-winged than a Common Buzzard, with a clear kink at the wrist in flight. The tail is the clincher: clean white at the base with a broad black band at the tip. Juveniles, the usual age here, have a pale buff head and breast set against a solid dark brown belly, black wrist patches under the wing and a pale panel on the upper primaries. The legs are feathered to the toes. It hovers often and for long spells, like a giant Kestrel.

Call and song

Usually silent in Britain. The call is a drawn-out mewing 'peeeooo', similar to a Common Buzzard but lower and more wailing. You are unlikely to hear it away from the breeding grounds. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Common Buzzard: Pale Common Buzzards can show a whitish tail base, but lack the clean black tail band, solid dark belly and white upper primary panel together.
• Hen Harrier: A ringtail Hen Harrier has white on the rump, not the tail, and is slimmer with a long barred tail and a low, tilting flight.

Month by month

A winter visitor, typically in the UK from October through to March. Numbers peak in January. See the January birding guide for what else is about. More on the season in UK raptors and owls.

Taller bars mean more birds about. Grey means it is usually absent.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Rough-legged Buzzard is a Rare tier bird, worth +8 points when you log one. It is not on the Red or Amber lists in Birds of Conservation Concern 5.

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Common BuzzardCommon · Farmland
• Long-legged BuzzardLegendary · Open country (very rare)
• Steppe BuzzardEpic · Open country (very rare race)
• Barnacle GooseUncommon · Coastal grassland (winter)
• Greater ScaupRare · Coastal bays (winter)
• Horned Lark (Shore Lark)Rare · Coastal saltmarsh (winter)

Rough-legged Buzzard: quick answers

Where can I see a Rough-legged Buzzard in the UK?

The east coast between Yorkshire and Kent gives the best chance, along with the Northern Isles. Birds favour big open marshes with plenty of voles and rabbits. Check the bird news services before you travel: in a poor year there may be only one or two in the whole country.

Is the Rough-legged Buzzard rare in the UK?

It is scarce, and the number varies more than almost any other regular visitor. Influxes come every six to eight years or so, after a good breeding season in Scandinavia. Away from the east side of Britain it is rare in any year.

What does a Rough-legged Buzzard eat?

Small mammals. On the tundra that means lemmings and voles. In Britain wintering birds hunt voles and young rabbits over rough grassland, dropping on them from a hover or a fence post.

Kit that helps

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