[SABN] Possible Long-legged Buzzard at Suikerbosrand NR

[Werner Sinclair]

Hi All

A "different" buzzard, resembling a Long-legged, was spotted by a group of
Birdlife Free State members at Suikerbosrand NR yesterday.

Its characteristics were as follows:

The bird appeared long-winged and long-tailed, but absolute size was
difficult to assess, about the same size as a Steppe Buzzard, with longer
wings and tail. It hovered for long periods alongside a cliff face and when
perched, sat more horisontally than the usual Steppe pose. The striking
characteristic about the bird was the tail - long, pale and "translucent"
(when seen in flight), with very faint beige barring on white, without any
sign whatsoever of a darker terminal bar near the tip; the whole tail was
the same colour throughout, fading to white on the vent. The head was pale
grey-brown, the chest pale with darker rufous blotching lower down towards
the belly, the thighs dark rufous and the legs bright yellow.

The underwing pattern in flight resembled exactly the picture of the
intermediate form of Long-legged Buzzard in the Kemps's raptor guide, with
the trailing edges still black, but not as dark as the wing tips and leading
edges.

Based on the behaviour, long wings, perch position, head colour and tail, I
think this is a Long-legged Buzzard, but would like to hear the comments
from the experts. I sent a few video grabs (unfortunately not very good
quality) to Zestforbirds that shows most of the above, but unfortunately not
the flight pattern. Maybe these can be placed on the web for comments.

Regards

Werner Sinclair
Bloemfontein