Upland Buzzard

Upland Buzzard (Buteo hemilasius) is a very large broad-winged buzzard with feathered legs, a pale tail and variable plumage ranging from light brown to dark. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It inhabits rocky mountain grasslands and plateaux across central and eastern Asia, hunting mainly small mammals and moving shorter distances when snow restricts access to prey. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).