Fun Grey-faced Buzzard Facts For Kids

The grey-faced buzzard eagle (Butastur indicus) belongs to the family Accipitridae and genus Butastur. It is a medium-sized bird species found in the range that consists of northeastern China, East Russia, Japan, Korea, and wintering take places in South east Asia.

The habitat of this buzzard consists of streams, woodlands, paddy fields, and grasslands.

The breeding range of this dove is mixed evergreen and coniferous in forest edges, mountains, marshes, meadows, and also near agricultural lands. These raptors are known to arrive or come to the breeding grounds in Japan from around late March to early April.

The nesting takes place on Japanese trees mostly and in China, the nests are placed on dense coniferous steep slopes and the nest is known to be lined with leaves and grass. Around three to four white-colored eggs with rusty or reddish-brown spots are laid.

Females are known to do the incubation process with males helping occasionally.

The hatching of eggs takes place from late May to early June. Fledgling happens or takes place from late June to early July or after about 35 days of hatching.

Adults of the grey-faced buzzard (Butastur indicus) are known to have a red and brown colored upper part of the chest and the chest is brown or dark brown colored. They are known to have a white throat and there are dark brown stripes covering the abdomen.

They have greyish or white underparts and the wings of this bird are narrow and pointed. The young ones are less reddish.

The diet of a grey-faced buzzard eagle includes crustaceans, frogs, lizards, small rodents, insects, and sometimes other birds and small mammals too.

Males of this species are known to spend most of their time hunting for food during the breeding season. Most of the species are found in Japan and these birds have been placed under the Least Concern category of conservation status.

It is quite interesting to learn about these birds, the grey-faced buzzard (Butastur indicus), and if you are interested, read about the common buzzard and the Hawaiian crow too.

Grey-Faced Buzzard Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a grey-faced buzzard?

It is a bird or a raptor.

What class of animal does a grey-faced buzzard belong to?

A grey-faced buzzard (Butastur indicus) belongs to the class of Aves of birds.

How many grey-faced buzzards are there in the world?

The exact count of these buzzard birds is not estimated yet.

Where does a grey-faced buzzard live?

The population of this bird, the grey-faced buzzard eagle, is known to be distributed in the range of northeastern China, East Russia, Japan, Korea, and wintering takes place in South east Asia.

What is a grey-faced buzzard's habitat?

The habitat of this buzzard consists of streams, woodlands, paddy fields, and grasslands. The breeding range of this dove consists of mixed evergreen and coniferous in forest edges, mountains, marshes, meadows, and also near agricultural lands.

Who do grey-faced buzzards live with?

Not much is known about this bird living in groups or alone. A group of hawks is known as a brood, couple, cast, brace, boil, aerie, or eyerie.

How long does a grey-faced buzzard live?

The lifespan of this bird is known to be around eight years.

How do they reproduce?

These raptors are known to arrive at the breeding grounds in Japan from around late March to early April. Males are known to arrive before females and defend their territory.

After the females arrive at the breeding grounds, small nests are built with sticks and placed on trees during the breeding season. The nesting takes place on Japanese trees mostly and in China, the nests are placed on dense coniferous steep slopes and the nest is known to be lined with leaves and grass.

Around three to four white-colored eggs with rusty or reddish-brown spots are laid.

Females are known to do the incubation process with males helping occasionally. The hatching of eggs takes place from late May to early June.

Fledgling takes place from late June to early July or after about 35 days of hatching. Fledglings are known to be fed by the parents for about two weeks around or near the nest and then they are known to become independent.

What is their conservation status?

These raptors are placed under the Least Concern category of conservation status.

Grey-Faced Buzzard Fun Facts

What do grey-faced buzzards look like?

The males and females of this species are known to have similar coloration. Adults are known to have a red and brown colored upper part of the chest and the chest is brown or dark brown colored.

They are known to have a white throat and there are dark brown bars covering the abdomen. They have grayish or white underparts. The wings of this bird are known to be narrow and pointed.

Their feathers are thin and thus, seem transparent during flight. The tail is known to have horizontal-shaped bars and the tail is ashy brown in color. The iris of these birds is known to be yellow in color.

Juveniles are known to be less reddish and on the abdomen have dark brown stripes. The eye and face color is known to be brown with a buffish color.

How cute are they?

These birds are not considered cute.

How do they communicate?

Just like some other bird species, these birds are also known to produce various sounds and calls to communicate with each other.

How big is a grey-faced buzzard?

The length of this bird or raptor ranges from 16-18 in (41-46 cm). It is considered to be medium-sized in length. It is similarly sized to a carrion crow and is larger than a little crow.

How fast can a grey-faced buzzard fly?

The exact speed of grey-faced buzzard eagle is unknown.

How much does a grey-faced buzzard weigh?

The weight of this raptor species is around 0.92 lb (0.42 kg).

What are the male and female names of the species?

There are no specific names for the males and females of this species.

What would you call a baby grey-faced buzzard?

There is no particular name for a baby of this grey-faced buzzard eagle (Butastur indicus) but it is referred to as a chick or young one.

What do they eat?

The diet of this raptor species, grey-faced buzzard eagle (Butastur indicus), consists of crustaceans, frogs, lizards, small rodents, insects, sometimes other birds, and small mammals too. This bird species is known to actively change its diets according to the foraging site.

Are they dangerous?

These birds are not considered dangerous.

Would they make a good pet?

These birds are not suitable as pets as they are wild animals.

Did you know...

These wild birds of prey, grey-faced buzzards, are not buzzards actually but are a part of the hawk family.

Sometimes, grey-faced buzzards are also sometimes referred to as frog hawks.

During the breeding or the mating season, the male grey-faced buzzard or the grey-faced buzzard is known to spend 90% of its time in search of prey.

These wild raptors are known to use the same nest for many years until reconstruction is required.

The major threat this species faces is hunting.

Most of the species are known to be found in Japan.

This raptor is known to breed in far Southeast Asia or East Asia and throughout the forests of Japan, excluding Hokkaido.

Do grey-faced buzzards migrate?

Grey-faced buzzards are migratory and are known to use the only oceanic flyway in the world to migrate. They migrate in flocks in autumn to the south from around late September to mid-October.

Comparisons with other buzzards

All buzzards are known to have dark wingtips and a finely tail which is barred.

When you see a grey-faced buzzard soaring or gliding, it is known to hold its wings in a V which can be shallow and the tails are known to be fanned, just like other buzzards.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds from our sea eagle facts and white gyrfalcon facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable flying buzzard coloring pages.