Here we see a couple of Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo), or do we? Whilst both share the same title, the one above is the ‘Azorean’ common buzzard’ (Buteo buteo rothschildi) a sub-species endemic to the Azores and one that is slightly larger than it’s mainland cousins (below). Only a couple of centimetres in wingspan and body length mark the main differences in size, whilst appearance is very similar. That said, not all common buzzards in general have the same colouration, it can very much depend on geographical location. Most can appear in various dark shades, similar to the birds seen here, whilst others, often in Northern Germany and some Nordic countries, can appear quite light and quite different to the darker variants – almost to the point you’d think they were another species. In North America the ‘red-tailed hawk‘ (Buteo jamaicensis) is considered a close cousin to the common buzzard and it is even sometimes referred to as the red-tailed buzzard.
from stevewphotography
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