Eastern buzzard
Buteo japonicus Temminck & Schlegel, 1845
The eastern buzzard (Buteo japonicus) is a species in the family Accipitridae, order Accipitriformes. Recorded adults weigh 759.1 g to 945.8 g and live up to 25.3 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the eastern buzzard
- Weight
- 759.1 g – 945.8 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 1.22 m – 1.37 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 25.3 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 28.8 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 35 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2 – 3src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2 years – 2.49 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the eastern buzzard?
Photos of the eastern buzzard
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the eastern buzzard live?
Not recorded
What is the eastern buzzard?
The eastern buzzard or Japanese buzzard (Buteo japonicus) is a medium to large bird of prey that is sometimes considered a subspecies of the widespread common buzzard (Buteo buteo). It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the common buzzard, but molecular phylogenetic studies revealed that B. buteo as then circumscribed was polyphyletic, leading to the recognition of the eastern buzzard and Himalayan buzzard (B. refectus) as distinct species. It is native to East Asia and some parts of Russia and South Asia, with some birds wintering in Southeast Asia. It is similar to the steppe buzzard. It is carnivorous.
It includes four subspecies:
B. j. burmanicus: breeds in Siberia, Mongolia, northern China, and North Korea, winters in Southeast Asia
B. j. japonicus: breeds only in Japan, winters from southern Japan to southeastern China and Taiwan
B. j. toyoshimai: Izu Islands and Bonin Islands
B. j. oshiroi: Daito Islands
From the Wikipedia article “Eastern buzzard” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eastern_buzzard&oldid=1380704875), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the eastern buzzard endangered?
The eastern buzzard is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the eastern buzzard classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAccipitriformes
- familyAccipitridae
- genusButeo
- SpeciesButeo japonicus Temminck & Schlegel, 1845
Synonyms Buteo buteo japonicus
Other names and names in other languages (38)
- Japanese buzzardEnglish
- Japanese buzzardEnglish
- aligot del JapóCatalan
- káně východníCzech
- Japansk MusvågeDanish
- TaigabussardGerman
- orienta buteoEsperanto
- Busardo japonésSpanish
- aasianhiirihaukkaFinnish
- Buse d'OrientFrench
- Buse du JaponFrench
- Clamhán oirthearachIrish
- עקב יפניHebrew
- istočnoazijski škanjacCroatian
- Poiana orientaleItalian
- Poiana del GiapponeItalian
- Poiana giapponeseItalian
- ノスリJapanese
- Шығыс тiлемiшKazakh
- 말똥가리Korean
- rytinis suopisLithuanian
- Japānas klijānsLatvian
- Japanse BuizerdDutch
- amurvåkNorwegian
- myszołów amurskiPolish
- bútio-japonêsPortuguese
- bútio-orientalPortuguese
- Восточный канюкRussian
- myšiak nosuriSlovak
- јапански мишарSerbian
- Japanski mišarSerbian
- orientvråkSwedish
- เหยี่ยวทะเลทรายตะวันออกThai
- Japon ŞahiniTurkish
- канюк східнийUkrainian
- 普通鵟Chinese
- 東方鵟Chinese
- 東方鵟〔東亞鵟〕Chinese
Relatives of the eastern buzzard
Other species in the same genus Buteo.
Common buzzard
Buteo buteo
Rough-legged buzzard
Buteo lagopus
Long-legged buzzard
Buteo rufinus
Red-tailed hawk
Buteo jamaicensis
Upland buzzard
Buteo hemilasius
Galapagos hawk
Buteo galapagoensis
CompareEastern buzzard vs Common buzzardEastern buzzard vs Rough-legged buzzardEastern buzzard vs Long-legged buzzardEastern buzzard vs Red-tailed hawk
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the eastern buzzard?
An adult eastern buzzard weighs 759.1 g – 945.8 g and has a wingspan of 1.22 m – 1.37 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the eastern buzzard endangered?
The eastern buzzard is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the eastern buzzard live?
The eastern buzzard has a recorded lifespan of 25.3 years.
What kind of animal is the eastern buzzard?
The eastern buzzard (Buteo japonicus) belongs to the family Accipitridae in the order Accipitriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Eastern buzzard (Buteo japonicus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/eastern-buzzard
“Eastern buzzard (Buteo japonicus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/eastern-buzzard.
@misc{eastern_buzzard_2026,
title = {Eastern buzzard (Buteo japonicus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/eastern-buzzard},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}