This raptor varies greatly in plumage. It is a summer visitor in Europe and searches for food in open woodland during the breeding season.
Plumage varies from mostly brown to much paler forms. The eyes are yellow, while the bill and cere are black.
Researchers observed European Honey Buzzards crossing the western Pyrenees between Spain and France. At the Somport and Portalet passes, they recorded visible autumn migration in 2016 and 2017 and examined when birds passed and how passage related to weather.
During the observation period, Honey Buzzards passed from mid-August to mid-September. The two gliding species passed most often around midday, when warm air was rising. Among weather factors assessed for all four species, temperature was most closely linked to migration.
The study covered visible passage below 400 metres. At each pass, observers recorded timing, wind direction, and temperature, then compared weather and migration for the Honey Buzzard and three other species.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Visible records at two western Pyrenees passes in 2016–2017 placed Honey Buzzard passage from mid-August to mid-September. Among four species, temperature was most closely associated with migration.