Grey-faced Buzzard

Grey-faced Buzzard

Scientific Name: Butastur indicus

Malay Name: Helang-Rintik Utara

Chinese Name: 灰脸鵟鹰

Range: Found from eastern Siberia, north-eastern China, Japan to Korea and winters to Southeast Asia

Taxonomy: Monotypic.

Size: 41-49 cm

Identification: Adult has mostly plain greyish-brown upperparts and upperbreast, whitish throat with distinctive black mesial stripes, greyish-brown rest of underparts with whitish barrings, pale underwing with dark wing-tips and three dark tail-bands. Juvenile has browner upperparts, broad whitish supercilium and dull whitish underparts with bold dark streaks.

Similar looking species: Shikra

Habitat: Open country, lightly wooded areas and reclaimed land

Behaviour/Ecology:

Local Status: Uncommon migrant

Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2021)

Location: Changi reclaimed land, Tanah Merah grassland, Tuas, Pulau Ubin, Henderson Wave, Kent Ridge Park and Sisters’ Islands.

Featured reports: Mar 2022, Oct 2022, Nov 2022, Mar 2023, Oct 2023, Nov 2023, Mar 2024, Nov 2024

Migrant bar chart (see more bar charts):

Grey-faced Buzzard Butastur indicus
Estimated average number of individuals by week based on eBird data, Jul 2014 to Jun 2024
Peak week Oct 29-Nov 04
Early date 18 Oct 2004
Late date 08 Apr 2001
Used to be considered rare, but recently realized to be rather common at the end of Oct and in early Nov, and in early March to a lesser extent.
Subadult Grey-faced Buzzard at Changi. Photo Credit: Francis Yap
Adult Grey-faced Buzzard at Henderson Wave. Photo Credit: Goh Cheng Teng
Grey-faced Buzzard at Khao Dinsor, Thailand. Photo credit: Goh Cheng Teng
Adult Grey-faced Buzzard at Sisters’ Islands. Photo credit: Francis Yap
Subadult Grey-faced Buzzard at Tanah Merah. Photo Credit: Francis Yap
Adult Grey-faced Buzzard at Henderson Wave. Photo Credit: Goh Cheng Teng
Adult Grey-faced Buzzard at Henderson Wave. Photo Credit: Goh Cheng Teng
Subadult Grey-faced Buzzard at Changi. Photo Credit: Francis Yap
Grey-faced Buzzard at Telok Blangah Hill Park. Photo credit: Francis Yap

External Links:

Conservation Status: IUCN Red List Page

Sound Recordings: xeno-canto Link

Wikipedia Entry: Wikipedia Link

eBird Species page: eBird (Gray-faced Buzzard)

References:

BirdLife International. (2021). Butastur indicus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22695726A202433645.en. Accessed on 1 January 2023

Jeyarajasingam, A., & Pearson, A. (2012). A Field Guide to the Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. Oxford University Press.

Lim, K. S. (2009). The Avifauna of Singapore. Nature Society (Singapore).

Robson, C. (2014). Field guide to the birds of South-East Asia (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing, London.

RECOMMENDED CITATION

Bird Society of Singapore. (n.d.). Grey-faced Buzzard. Retrieved on May 8, 2025 from https://singaporebirds.com/species/grey-faced-buzzard.

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