Common buzzard or steppe buzzard, Tabuk, NW Saudi (1 Viewer)

[BirdingRob]

Dear all,

Last week I posted two pictures of a buzzard from Tabuk in the far NW of Saudi Arabia closev to Israel.

buteo buteo buteo (common buzzard) is "unrecorded in Arabia" but is a "regular winter visitor to Israel" according to Birds of the Middle East

The default sub species in Arabia is buteo buteo vulpinus or steppe buzzard.

The conclusion from BirdForum was that from the two pictures of a perched bird we cant tell which it was.

I asked my friend to try to find it again it and see if he could get some flight pix. He did!

I attach the 4 flight pictures. Can we now tell which of the two sub species it is? If we cant, just how do the Israelis do it!

All comments very welcome.

Rob

 

[Valéry Schollaert]

If we cant, just how do the Israelis do it!

Well, birders don't like to admit that birds cannot be identified. Birds identified as on or another can always be possibily hybrid of 2nd, 3rd generation or more, thus not fully identifiable IMO. If there was a genetic fence between the two, they would be different species, wouldn't they?

Now, indeed, your bird looks like a buteo

 

[tconzemi]

Brown Buteo buteo are beuuurk to ID to supspecies
let's try to get it by moult pattern, everybody will agree on having 2 generations of tail feathers and secondaries (I am not sure about P1-4), which would be rather odd for B.b. buteo in winter and normal in B.b.vulpinus. That's why I think it must be vulpinus but I fully agree with Valéry and even more so as pure vulpinus should still be down in Africa.

 

[lou salomon]

even on plumage - darker birds with pale flashes on primary bases plus narrow tail band both fit vulpinus much better.

 

[BirdingRob]

Thanks to all 3 for your illuminating comments.

By the way there was a second buzzard near-by at the same time. This was an obvious vulpinus ("darkish morph" as described in my guide book)

Rob