Rough-legged buzzard
Buteo lagopus
Channa Jayasinghe · Downsview
Key facts in one look
- Size
- 46–68 cm, wingspan 1.2–1.53 m
- Diet
- Voles and other small mammals
- Status in Georgia
- Passage migrant and winter visitor, does not breed
- Recorded regions
- Shida Kartli
- Habitat
- Open fields and steppe in winter
- Family
- Accipitridae
- Protection
- Globally LC (2021)
The rough-legged buzzard (Buteo lagopus) is a medium-large bird of prey: it is 46–68 cm long, with a wingspan of 1.2–1.53 m, and weighs 600–1,660 g. The female is larger and heavier than the male. Its legs are feathered down to the toes, which helps it live in the cold Arctic. It is pale below, with dark patches on the belly and at the bend of the wing, and its tail is white with a broad dark band at the tip. It is harmless to people. The 2024 Georgian checklist lists it as a passage migrant and winter visitor, and it does not breed in Georgia. Records are few, and almost all come from Shida Kartli, at Nadarbazevi Lake, from November to February. Globally its risk of extinction is low (LC, 2021), and its numbers are stable.
Identification
Rough-legged buzzard: how to identify it
A medium-large buzzard with a white tail and a broad dark band at the tip, a dark patch at the bend of the underwing and a dark belly. Its legs are feathered down to the toes. It often hovers in one place with fluttering wings.
It is 46–68 cm long, with a wingspan of 1.2–1.53 m, and weighs 600–1,660 g. The female is larger and heavier than the male. The legs are feathered, but the toes are bare. Its talons are relatively small.
The plumage is mainly brown and white, often speckled. Most birds have a broad brown band or patch on the breast or belly. Pale birds have a dark, square patch at the bend of the underwing that stands out on the white wing. The tail is long and white, with one or more dark bands at the tip. There are also dark birds, which are much plainer.
The similar Buteo buteo has a barred tail without a white base, and its legs are bare. The rough-legged buzzard is longer-winged and more eagle-like. When it perches, its wingtips reach the tip of the tail or beyond.
Colour
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
Often confused with
It breeds in the tundra and taiga of the Arctic and subarctic in North America, Europe and Asia, between about 61° and 76° north. It nests on cliffs, steep slopes or in trees. Eurasian birds winter in central Europe and Asia. In winter it hunts over open country: fields, steppe and the edges of marshes. In Georgia almost all records come from Shida Kartli, at Nadarbazevi Lake. In Kvemo Kartli there is only one record, in Tsalka Municipality.
The rough-legged buzzard map shows public iNaturalist observations. Only Shida Kartli has enough records, at Nadarbazevi Lake, where the bird turns up regularly in winter. Kvemo Kartli has a single record, from Tsalka Municipality. All observations fall between November and February.
Data: Reptiles.ge + iNaturalist · Methodology
- Field observation
- Several records in one spot
- Photo record
- Region with records
It is carnivorous. It hunts over open land and eats mainly small mammals, in the Arctic especially lemmings and voles. In years when rodents are scarce, it switches to ptarmigans and hares. It also catches birds, more often young ones, and medium-sized mammals such as ground squirrels and weasels.
It is a full migrant: it breeds in the Arctic and moves south to temperate regions for the winter. Its migration depends on food supply, weather and breeding success. The 2024 Georgian checklist lists it as a passage migrant and winter visitor. In Georgia observations come only from November to February. It is one of the birds of prey that often hovers in one place on fluttering wings, scanning the ground below. In the Arctic it usually lays 3–5 eggs, sometimes 1 to 7: the more food there is, the more eggs it lays. The female does almost all the incubation, for at least 31 days, while the male feeds her. The chicks leave the nest at 4–6 weeks and depend on their parents for another 2–4 weeks.
Globally the rough-legged buzzard's risk of extinction is rated low (LC, 2021). A 2021 estimate puts the number of mature birds at 350,000–800,000, and numbers are stable. In the past farmers often shot and trapped it; this happens less now, but in some places, especially on the wintering grounds, it still matters. It also dies in collisions with cars, on power lines and in traps set for fur-bearing animals. Changeable weather caused by climate change harms its breeding. The species is listed in Appendix II of CITES and of the Bonn Convention. The 2024 Georgian checklist also rates its risk in Georgia as low (LC).
Channa Jayasinghe · Dmitry Boldyrev · Liudmyla Alymova · Anna Kolosova · Giorgi Natsvlishvili
Related guides
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Yes, but it does not breed here. The 2024 Georgian checklist lists it as a passage migrant and winter visitor. Observations run from November to February.
Almost all records come from Shida Kartli, at Nadarbazevi Lake. In winter look over open fields and steppe.
The rough-legged buzzard has a white tail with a broad dark band at the tip and a dark patch at the bend of the underwing. Its legs are feathered, and it often hovers in one place.
No. It breeds in the tundra and taiga of the Arctic and subarctic. In Georgia it is seen only in winter and on migration.
It is 46–68 cm long, with a wingspan of 1.2–1.53 m, and weighs 600–1,660 g. The female is larger than the male.
Mainly voles and other small mammals, as well as birds.
The rough-legged buzzard is harmless to people. Globally its risk of extinction is low and its numbers are stable. The 2024 Georgian checklist also rates it LC in Georgia.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
