Buzzards' Habitat

Buzzards are known by various names including condor, hawk, and vulture depending on where they are found. They are all members of the genus Buteo. They are all birds of prey, feeding off dead animals and hunting live ones as well. They perform a great service to the environment by cleaning away the dead carcasses and keeping the rodent population in check.

  1. Common European Buzzard

    • The common or European buzzard can be pale to dark brown with a barred tail and a white patch on the underside of its wings. Its habitat is the forests and woodlands of England and Ireland where they stay all year. They also inhabit the mainland of Europe and Asia during the breeding season and winter in East Africa, Malays and South China.

    Turkey Buzzard

    • The turkey buzzard's habitat is in many places in the United States, but not on the East Coast. Their favorite habitat is close to the seashore. They are abundant in the southern states and on Galveston Island, where it inhabits the salt marshes and tall grasses. The turkey buzzard is a light cream color with black and brown markings.

    The Andean Condor

    • The habitat of the Andean condor is the grasslands and alpine regions of the mountains in western South America. They will spend some time in the lowland deserts and along the coast looking for food, but are very rarely found in the forests. The Andean condor is the only member of the buzzard family in the New World where there is a difference between the male and female. The male has a large comb and wattle.

    California Condor

    • The habitat of the California Condor, also known as the California Vulture, was once the mountains of the Pacific coast all the way from British Columbia in Canada to the northern part of Baja California. Now they exist only in south central California. They live in mountains, gorges and hillsides. The California condor is considered to be one of the most endangered species in the world.

    Black Vulture

    • The habitat of the black vulture, which is also known as the carrion crow, black buzzard, and Jim crow, is the lowland areas by the rivers and open areas of the southern United States and Central and South America. They are very rarely seen in the forests.

    Greater Yellow-headed Vulture

    • The habitat of the greater yellow-headed vulture is the undisturbed tropical lowland forests of South America and sometimes in the surrounding grass lands. They have extremely large wings, black bodies and heads that are completely yellow.