Fun Himalayan Buzzard Facts For Kids
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The Himalayan buzzard is a type of buzzard found in the Himalayan regions of Asia. It mostly inhabits the forests and scrublands of the hill and mountain regions in India, Nepal and southern parts of China.
The scientific name of the Himalayan buzzard previously was Buteo burmanicus. However, that scientific name is now used to refer to another Asian migratory subspecies called the eastern buzzard. The Himalayan buzzard was renamed to Buteo refectus while the eastern buzzard got the scientific name of Buteo japonicus burmanicus.
The Himalayan buzzard appearance often causes identification problems since it looks a lot like the upland buzzard and Eastern buzzard species. For easier identification, bird watchers try and distinguish between the proportions of the upland and Himalayan buzzard.
The features of the upland buzzard resemble that of an eagle. The Himalayan buzzard also has darker legs than Eastern buzzards. They are also known for their sharp, high-pitched sounds.
Keep reading for more interesting facts about the Himalayan buzzard! If you liked this article with some great facts about the Himalayan buzzard, also check out the other articles with some interesting facts about the swallow-tailed kite and Hawaiian hawk.
Himalayan Buzzard Interesting Facts
What type of animal is a Himalayan buzzard?
The Himalayan buzzard (Buteo refectus) is a type of buzzard bird that belongs to the Order Accipitriformes, Family Accipitridae and Genus Buteo.
What class of animal does a Himalayan buzzard belong to?
The Himalayan buzzard belongs to the Aves class of animal and also that belongs to the Order Accipitriformes, Family Accipitridae and Genus Buteo.
How many Himalayan buzzards are there in the world?
The current population of the Himalayan buzzard (Buteo refectus) species has not yet been calculated by scientists and researchers. However, they have not identified any immediate risks or threats to the population of this species. Therefore, the population range of this bird species is considered to be stable according to their information.
Where does a Himalayan buzzard live?
The Himalayan buzzard (Buteo refectus) belongs to Order Accipitriformes, Family Accipitridae and Genus Buteo is a resident of the Himalayan mountain range including Nepal, India and southern parts of China.
What is a Himalayan buzzard's habitat?
The Himalayan buzzard range map distribution is mostly concentrated in the Himalayas and the adjacent mountain regions. The range of habitat of this bird belonging to the Accipitridae family can be seen in India, China and Nepal. Most people can see or view this bird in temperate forests, temperate shrublands or grasslands and even in moist pastureland.
Who do Himalayan buzzards live with?
Not much is known about the social behavior of this species. However, the common buzzard species is mostly solitary in nature so it can be assumed that these birds are also solitary. They may also be seen in small groups or flocks.
How long does a Himalayan buzzard live?
While the exact lifespan of the Himalayan buzzard (Buteo refectus) has not yet been observed by scientists, the average lifespan of a buzzard bird is approximately eight years. However, most of the buzzard birds die of starvation before maturing to an adult stage.
How do they reproduce?
Not much information is available about the reproductive process of Himalayan buzzard (Buteo refectus). They have been noted to breed from April to June.
The Himalayan buzzard male and the Himalayan buzzard female use large sticks and build a heavy nest that they place on the edges of mountain slopes.
While there is not much information about how many Himalayan buzzard eggs these female birds lay, buzzards of most species lay two to four eggs in a clutch after an incubation period of three to four weeks.
What is their conservation status?
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the Himalayan buzzard (Buteo refectus) species (belonging to the family Accipitridae, genus Buteo) under the Least Concern status under the IUCN Red List.
Himalayan Buzzard Fun Facts
What do Himalayan buzzards look like?
The Himalayan buzzard is a medium to large-sized predatory bird with the usual physical characteristics of a buzzard. The Himalayan buzzard feathers depend on the morph of these birds. This bird species has two forms, a darker brown colored form and one where the plumage is paler in color.
The birds of the darker morph are mostly dark to brick red brown in color throughout their body. In contrast to that, the pale morph birds have brown colored upper parts while the lower parts of their body are white in color with brown colored spots. They have yellow legs and feet.
Juvenile birds have more streaks throughout their body as compared to the adults.
How cute are they?
The Himalayan buzzard is not cute at all in the conventional sense. Rather this medium to large-sized predator bird looks quite menacing from afar.
How do they communicate?
This bird species belonging to the Family Accipitridae mostly uses sound in order to communicate with each other or call each other when they are in danger.
How big is a Himalayan buzzard?
The average length of the Himalayan buzzard species falls within the range of 17.7-20.8 in (45-52.8 cm).
The harrier hawk is almost the same size as that of the Himalayan buzzard species as the average length of the harrier hawk falls in the range of 19-24.5 in (48.2-62.2 cm).
The length of the Himalayan buzzard wingspan has been estimated to be between 14.9-15.7 in (37.8-39.8 cm).
How fast can a Himalayan buzzard fly?
Just like the common buzzard, the Himalayan buzzard flight speed has also been noted to fly quite fast.
How much does a Himalayan buzzard weigh?
The exact weight of the Himalayan buzzard is not known. However, its weight can be considered to be close to the weight of a common buzzard which is approximately 15.1-49.3 oz (428-1397.6 g).
What are the male and female names of the species?
There are no distinct names for the male and female birds of this species. Consequently, the male bird is referred to as cock, and the female bird is called a hen.
What would you call a baby Himalayan buzzard?
There are no separate, unique names for a Himalayan buzzard baby. Therefore, baby birds of this species are mostly referred to as chicks or nestlings following the standard terminology used for birds.
What do they eat?
While there is not much information about the diet of the Himalayan buzzard (Buteo refectus), these birds mostly search for and feed on invertebrates, rodents, small birds, and small reptiles.
Sometimes, these birds have been noted to use the technique of perching and hovering in different areas of their habitat in order to search for prey. Once their search is complete, they snatch up their live prey and kill them for food.
Are they poisonous?
The Himalayan buzzard (Buteo refectus) species is not known to be poisonous in nature.
Would they make a good pet?
The Himalayan buzzard (Buteo refectus) would not make a good pet bird, unlike the Fischer's lovebird. After all, these birds are wild in nature and prefer their natural habitat range in the Himalayas where they can freely look for prey.
Did you know...
This bird gives out a loud, high-pitched sound resembling 'pee-ooo' just like a common buzzard. However, the sound of the Himalayan buzzard is more clear and lasts for a short time, which makes identification based on sound easier.
Are Himalayan buzzards migratory?
According to current scientific data, this bird species is not migratory and mostly stays within the usual Himalayan buzzard range. While the bird is mostly sedentary, it may sometimes attempt migrations of short distance to areas of higher or lower altitudes.
Are Himalayan buzzards endangered?
The Himalayan buzzard (Buteo refectus) is not endangered, unlike the Siberian crane which has been classified under the category of Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List. The Himalayan buzzard (Buteo refectus) bird species are considered to be of Least Concern according to the data collected by the IUCN.
This is because they feel that this bird belonging to Order Accipitriformes, Family Acciptridae and Genus Buteo is found abundantly within its range and does not face any immediate threat.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out white hawk facts and saker falcon facts for kids.
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable bird coloring pages.
Second image by Drjpmenon.
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