Grasshopper Buzzard
Butastur rufipennis
A small, slim, fairly long-tailed buzzard. Gray and brown on the upperparts and rufous on the underparts. The white throat has a black line down the center. In flight, reveals distinctive rufous patches on the tops of the wings, with mostly white underwings. Found in a variety of savanna and grassland habitats. A migratory species that is often found in flocks, especially near fires. Best told from other buzzards by its structure, and in flight by its rufous wing panels. The call is a series of “ki” notes.
Identification
The adult grasshopper buzzard is grey brown above with a darker head and dark shaft streaks on all of its feathers. The feathers of the mantle and lesser coverts are narrowly with fringed rufous in fresh plumage, although this wears off. The grey tail has faint brown bars. The greater coverts and primary feathers are light rufous, the primaries are tipped with black, and form a conspicuous reddish patch in flight. The secondary feathers are rufous shading to dark brown towards the tip, which is white. The chin and throat are whitish, with three black streaks on either side of throat. The breast is rufous and has narrow shaft streaks of black, the belly and thighs are also rufous but lack markings. The axillary feathers are greyish brown, spotted with white or buff. The under wing coverts and wing lining are white. The eyes, legs, and cere are yellow. The bill has a black tip and a yellow base. The female is slightly larger than the male. Juveniles have a bright brownish-red head and nape with dark shaft streaks, and as they age, the crown becomes the same colour as the back, the tail acquires bars, and the rufous edges on the mantle and coverts become less distinct. The length of the grasshopper buzzard is 30–35 cm (12–14 in); the wingspan: 90 cm (35 in) and the weight is 310–340 g (11–12 oz) for the males and 300–380 g (11–13 oz) for the females.
Taxonomy
The grasshopper buzzard forms a superspecies with the white-eyed buzzard (Butastur teesa), rufous-winged buzzard (Butastur liventer), and grey-faced buzzard (Butastur indicus) all of which occur in Asia.
- Scientific name
- Butastur rufipennis
- Authority
- (Sundevall, 1850)
- Order
- Accipitriformes
- Family
- Accipitridae
- Genus
- Butastur
Range and habitat
Afrotropical. Senegal and Gambia east to Ethiopia, migrating south to Sierra Leone, Cameroon, northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, and northern Tanzania.<p>The grasshopper buzzard is a partial migrant which moves south in the dry northern winter, i.e. September to March, and north again in summer with the rains, April to September to breed. In general, this species ranges between about 9-15° N when breeding, south to 5° N in the dry season, it only occurs south of the equator in eastern Africa. There is much local and even annual variation in distribution and abundance. Grasshopper buzzards usually frequent woodland and forest edges, and arid acacia savannahs. It also can be found in marshes’ edges and over burnt areas.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Tibetan Snowfinch
Montifringilla henrici
Small brown finch of open highland steppes on the Tibetan plateau. Male has short but prominent black mustache and a dark bill. Female lacks the mustache, but has an orange bill and a pale white eyebrow stripe faintly resembling that of female and immature House Sparrows. Flashing white wing patches are only prominent when in flight. Confusingly, the Black-winged Snowfinch (Montifringilla adamsi) is occasionally referred to as the Tibetan Snowfinch in older field guides.
Bahia Tyrannulet
Phylloscartes beckeri
Small flycatcher with a long tail that is usually held cocked. Has an olive-green back, a whitish throat, and yellowish underparts. Note the dusky eye-stripe, buff eye-ring, and yellow wingbars. Found in humid forest at higher altitudes (750-1200 m), where it actively forages in the canopy and almost invariably accompanies mixed-species flocks. Call is a series of short, soft “tik” notes.
Yellow-crowned Manakin
Heterocercus flavivertex
Fairly large, distinctive manakin. Males have olive backs and are rusty colored below, contrasting with a white throat. The yellow crown patch is usually concealed. Females have a gray throat and lack the yellow crown. Found in seasonally flooded forests and adjacent unflooded forests near rivers, including white sand forests. The call is a very thin ascending and descending whistle: “weeee-pítch-ooo.” Females are almost inseparable from females of Flame-crowned Manakin, but there is no range overlap.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.