European honey buzzard

Length at species level is often 52–60 cm, wingspan 135–150 cm . Published measurements give wing 375–475 mm, tail 250–270 mm and mass 700–800 g; the female is slightly larger than the male. There is no separately measured Georgian series on this page. The head is small and elongated, the bill relatively slim, the tail longer than a buzzard’s. Wings are held flat when soaring. The tail often shows two narrow dark bars and a broad dark terminal band. The carpal patch on the underwing is weaker than in common buzzard.

Plumage is highly variable, from pale sandy to dark brown. The male often has a blue-grey head, the female a brown one — unusual among large raptors. Juveniles are more barred, and the nostrils are slit-like — a diagnostic feature in a head-on view. Scale-like facial feathers protect against wasp stings.

Common buzzard (Buteo buteo) has its own page in this atlas: shorter tail, rounder head, often a shallow V when soaring, and a darker carpal patch on the underwing. Crested honey buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus) is also M on the 2024 checklist; Batumi counts average 18 per season, with a record of 38 — it is scarce. Adults often show a crest and a different underwing pattern; this atlas does not yet have a page for it. Black kite (Milvus migrans) is also abundant at Batumi: forked tail. Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) and northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) have pages here — short broad wings, a different silhouette. Peregrine is a pointed-wing falcon. Golden eagle is much larger.

It is not a threat to people. Leave it alone. A medium raptor with a small head and long tail streaming over Batumi in autumn is more likely this species than a common buzzard.