In the UK, Common Buzzards circle on broad wings and search woods and open countryside for small prey.
Their plumage ranges from dark brown to much paler shades; they have broad wings and a short tail.
During two winters in Poland, researchers compared Common Buzzards hunting beside an expressway and in open farmland. Observation time totalled 1,220 minutes beside the road and 1,100 minutes in farmland. Buzzards spent more time on medium-height perches beside the expressway.
They changed hunting sites in response to mean wind speed, and changed locations more often along the expressway. Land use, snow cover and wind speed were associated with the number of attacks on prey. The authors note that roadside hunting areas should be considered in plans to reduce vehicle-collision risk.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Across two Polish winters, researchers compared Common Buzzards hunting beside an expressway and in open farmland. Buzzards spent more time on medium-height perches beside the road and changed hunting sites more often there, with wind speed influencing those changes. Roadside hunting behaviour is relevant to planning for both buzzard conservation and traffic safety.