White-eyed Buzzard

The white-eyed buzzard is a medium-sized, slim, small hawk, distinct from the true buzzards of the genus Buteo. It is easily identified by its white iris and by a white throat with a dark central stripe, and adults have a rufous tail. The head is brown and the median coverts of the upper wing are pale. When perched, the wing tip nearly reaches the tip of the tail. Young birds have a brownish iris, a whitish forehead and sometimes a broad eyebrow (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is widely distributed in South Asia, throughout India in the plains and up to about 1,000–1,200 m in the Himalayan foothills. It sits upright on perches for long periods and soars on thermals in search of insects and small vertebrates, and is vociferous in the breeding season, when several birds may be heard calling as they soar together. The usual clutch is three white, usually unspotted eggs; both sexes build the nest and feed the young, while the female alone incubates for about 19 days. A 2011 study of power lines in Rajasthan found it the second most common raptor killed by electrocution after kestrels. SoIB 2023 rates it a Moderate conservation priority, with a Large range of about 955,000 km² and a current decline of nearly 4% a year (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).