Long-legged Buzzard in Shetland and Fair Isle: new to Britain

Long-legged Buzzard in Shetland and Fair Isle: new to Britain

Abstract

A Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus of the nominate form on mainland Shetland and then Fair Isle, on 1st September 2019, has been accepted as the first record for Britain. The details of the bird’s discovery, subsequent identification and the assessment process are given here.IntroductionThe Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus breeds from North Africa east to Central Asia. Two subspecies are recognised, with the nominate form breeding from southeast Europe, through Turkey and parts of the Levant to Central Asia, while ‘Atlas Long-legged Buzzard’ B. r. cirtensis breeds from Mauritania and Morocco eastwards to Egypt and possibly the Arabian Peninsula, though there is doubt over which subspecies occurs there. Atlas Long-legged Buzzard is largely sedentary, though birds occasionally wander into southern Spain and more southerly regions of West Africa. The nominate form is migratory across much of its European and Central Asian range, with birds typically wintering in areas from the Middle East, East Africa and India (Ferguson-Lees & Christie 2001; Orta et al. 2020). There are an increasing number of records of vagrants of the nominate form from northern Europe.A bird on mainland Shetland, discovered by Tom Gale (TG), was initially considered to be a Common Buzzard B. buteo – a rare species there. The same bird was later independently recorded from Fair Isle, where the observers considered it to be a Honey-buzzard Pernis apivorus. However, when the record was submitted to the Shetland Bird Club Records Committee as a Common Buzzard, doubts around the identification began to emerge and the record was recirculated, this time with the addition of video footage taken by TG. An investigation by committee member David Cooper (DC) showed that the bird was in fact a Long-legged Buzzard – potentially the first British record. The record was submitted to BBRC and BOURC and was ultimately accepted onto the British List. Here, we detail the finding and identification process.

Already a subscriber? Log in here

< Previous articleNext article >