The common buzzard ( scientific name : Rallus aquaticus ) is a bird of the genus Rallus aquaticus in the family Buzzard in the order Crassidae , with a total of 4 subspecies. Medium-sized wader, 29 cm long, stiff frontal feathers, long straight beak and slightly curved laterally flattened, nostrils are slit-shaped, located in the nasal grooves. The wings are short, no more than tail length backwards, the second primary flight feather is the longest, and the first primary flight feather is between the 6th and 8th flight feathers. The tail feathers are short and rounded. The tarsal is shorter than the length of the middle toe or the middle toe with claws; the toes are slender. It is a dark dark buzzard. The upper body has many longitudinal stripes, the top of the head is brown, the face is gray, the eyebrow lines are light gray and the eyeliner is dark gray. The chin is white , the neck and thorax are grey , and the two flanks have black-and-white transverse spots. Sub-adults have covert feathers on their wings with unclear white spots. Habitual shyness. It inhabits dense vegetation, swamps and mangroves along the water's edge. It is found in Eurasia, Africa, the Indian subcontinent and China.
Appearance characteristics
Adults of ordinary buzzards are similar in both sexes. The forehead, the top of the head to the back of the neck are dark brown, and the feathers are olive brown; The dorsal, shoulder, waist, and tail coverts are olive brown with black longitudinal stripes. The eyebrow lines are grayish white, and the eye lines are dark brown. The feathers are dark brown, and there are no white stripes on the primary flight feathers. The outer wing coverts are olive-brown with slightly white markings or end spots at the ends. The chin is white , the side of the head to the thorax is slate grey , and the two flanks and undertail coverts are black brown with white transverse stripes. The central ventral region is greyish-black with pale brown feather markings. Females have darker plumage , white chin and throat , and smaller gray areas on the side of the head and neck.
The juveniles have a darker upper body , yellow or white skin on the head and lower body , with brown to black stripes , dark brown to black stripes on both flanks , and yellow undertail coverts.
The iris is reddish brown. The mouth is almost red, the peaks of the mouth are brown, the apex is gray-green, and the flesh of the feet is brown.
Size measurement: weight male 85-195 g, female 92-115 g; Body length males 254-290 mm, females 228-295 mm; 35-43 mm for males and 34-44 mm for females; Winged males 122-136 mm, females 120-126 mm; 51-62 mm for tail males and 60-70 mm for females; Tarsal males are 38-43 mm and females are 36-43 mm.
Habitat
It inhabits the shores of swamps, ponds, rivers, lakes and other waters in and near open plains, low hills and foothills, and in and nearby shrublands, grasslands, swamps, forest edges and rice fields, as well as in drainage ditches, small wetlands, gravel pits or forests, garbage dumps and gardens of farmland. Sex is very secretive. It is often active alone or in small groups at night or at dusk, hiding under dense grass or shrubland during the day, and only coming to open and open places in the morning and evening and night foraging. Foraging in the mud. It is flexible and flexible through aquatic grasses, adapting to dense reed swamps and semi-aquatic living environments.
Habits of life
Ordinary buzzards are fearful of people, often act alone, and see people quickly fleeing. When migrating and overwintering, it is brisk and agile, and can run fast in the dense grass. He is also good at swimming and diving, but he does not fly much, and when he is forced to fly, he also flies close to the ground and at a low altitude, and does not fly far and falls into the grass. Fly fast, with your feet dangling under your body.
Omnivorous, animal foods include small fish, crustaceans, earthworms, earthworms, mollusks, shrimps, spiders, terrestrial and aquatic insects and their larvae, including leather-winged, dragonflies, cynodoptera, hemiptera, coleoptera, diptera, lepidoptera and orthoptera, etc., and also eat small vertebrates that have been killed or decayed; Plant foods include young shoots, roots, seeds, berries and fruits, and the proportion of plant foods eaten in autumn and winter is relatively large. Foraging in drylands or muddy fields near water, wading in shallow water, eating water surfaces and food in the water, sometimes swimming while feeding, rarely diving for food, and jumping up to prey on insects on plants.
Distribution range
Worldwide: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland , Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Yemen.
Traveling birds: Brunei, Greenland, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Vietnam.
China Distribution: Tianjin, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Hainan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Taiwan, Hong Kong.