Mäusebussard Lower Austria

The Mäusebussard, known in English as the common buzzard (Buteo buteo), is a medium-sized, stocky raptor measuring roughly 51 to 57 centimetres in body length with a wingspan of 113 to 128 centimetres. It is recognised by its relatively short, rounded tail and broad wings that fan out widely in soaring flight. Its plumage shows a degree of variation unmatched by any other central European bird, from almost pure white through intermediate forms to very dark, near black-brown morphs. It is the most common raptor in the German-speaking countries, with an estimated 80,000 to 135,000 breeding pairs in Germany alone.

A characteristic inhabitant of semi-open farmland, the buzzard breeds at forest edges, in copses and in riparian woodland adjoining meadows, arable land and heath, where it hunts. It is primarily a perch hunter, using fence posts, isolated trees and elevated lookouts to drop onto small mammals from a stand. Voles and field mice form the bulk of its diet, and when rodent numbers drop, it switches to frogs, lizards, earthworms and occasional carrion. It is distinguished from the similarly sized red kite by its unforked, shorter tail, and from the northern goshawk by its much broader wings, which it spreads conspicuously while circling.

For hunters the buzzard is a familiar sight in every Revier, yet it has no role as quarry. In Germany it is nominally listed under the Federal Hunting Law but, like all native birds of prey, is strictly protected by the Federal Nature Protection Act and the EU Birds Directive, with a year-round closed season. In Austria it is treated as game subject to a permanent closed season, and in Switzerland it is classed as non-huntable under the Hunting Act. Any pursuit, trapping or killing is a criminal offence. As an important regulator of rodent populations the species delivers tangible benefits in agricultural and forestry-dominated hunting grounds.