Editing Common buzzard (section)

===Mammals===
[[File:The Buzzard catched a mouse and flies away with his majestic wings - panoramio.jpg|thumb|left|A buzzard with a freshly caught rodent, likely a [[vole]].]]
A high diversity of [[rodent]]s may be taken given the chance, as around 60 species of rodent have been recorded in the foods of common buzzards.<ref name= Redinov/><ref name= Selas/> It seems clear that [[vole]]s are the most significant prey type for European buzzards. Nearly every study from the continent makes reference to the importance, in particular, of the two most numerous and widely distributed European voles: the {{cvt|28.5|g}} [[common vole]] (''Microtus arvalis'') and the somewhat more northerly ranging {{cvt|40|g}} [[field vole]] (''Microtus agrestis'').<ref name= Halle>Halle, S. (1988). ''Avian predation upon a mixed community of common voles (Microtus arvalis) and wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus)''. Oecologia, 75(3), 451–455.</ref><ref name= Selas2>Selås, V. (2001). ''Predation on reptiles and birds by the common buzzard, Buteo buteo, in relation to changes in its main prey, voles''. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 79(11), 2086–2093.</ref><ref>Andersson, M., & Erlinge, S. (1977). ''Influence of predation on rodent populations''. Oikos, 591–597.</ref> In southern [[Scotland]], field voles were the best-represented species in pellets, accounting for 32.1% of 581 pellets.<ref name= Graham>Graham, I. M., Redpath, S. M., & Thirgood, S. J. (1995). ''The diet and breeding density of Common Buzzards Buteo buteo in relation to indices of prey abundance''. Bird Study, 42(2), 165–173.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Francksen, R. M. |author2=Whittingham, M. J. | author3=Ludwig, S. C.|author4=Roos, S. | author5=Baines, D. | year=2017| title=Numerical and functional responses of Common Buzzards ''Buteo buteo'' to prey abundance on a Scottish grouse moor| journal=Ibis| volume=159| pages=541–553| doi=10.1111/ibi.12471| issue=3| url=https://eprint.ncl.ac.uk/fulltext.aspx?url=233076/02D1E945-B8B7-4AD7-8621-C52195C8ED4C.pdf&pub_id=233076}}</ref> In southern [[Norway]], field voles were again the main food in years with peak vole numbers, accounting for 40.8% of 179 prey items in 1985 and 24.7% of 332 prey items in 1994. Altogether, rodents amount to 67.6% and 58.4% of the foods in these respective peak vole years. However, in low vole population years, the contribution of rodents to the diet was minor.<ref name= Selas2/> As far west as the [[Netherlands]], common voles were the most regular prey, amounting to 19.6% of 6624 prey items in a very large study.<ref name= Bijlsma>Bijlsma, R. G. (2012). ''Reptielen als voer voor jonge Buizerds Buteo buteo''. De takkeling, 20(2), 133–144.</ref> Common voles were the main foods recorded in central [[Slovakia]], accounting for 26.5% of 606 prey items.<ref name= Sotnar>Šotnár, K., & Obuch, J. (2009). ''Feeding ecology of a nesting population of the Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) in the Upper Nitra Region, Central Slovakia''. Slovak Raptor Journal, 3, 13–20.</ref> The common vole, or other related vole species at times, were the main foods as well in [[Ukraine]] (17.2% of 146 prey items) ranging east to [[Russia]] in the [[Privolshky Les Nature Reserve|Privolshky Steppe Nature Reserve]] (41.8% of 74 prey items) and in [[Samara Oblast|Samara]] (21.4% of 183 prey items).<ref name= Redinov/> Other records from Russia and Ukraine show voles ranging from slightly secondary prey to as much as 42.2% of the diet.<ref name= Chernichko>Chernichko, I.I. & Davygora, A.V. (editors). (2012). ''Buzzards of North Eurasia: Distribution, Population Status, Biology''. Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Birds of Prey and Owls of North Eurasia, Kryvyi Rih, 27–30 September 2012. – Kryvyi Rih: Press- 272 p.</ref> In [[Belarus]], voles, including ''Microtus'' species and {{cvt|18.4|g}} [[bank vole]]s (''Myodes glareolus''), accounted for 34.8% of the biomass on average in 1065 prey items from different study areas over 4 years.<ref name= Sidorovich/> At least 12 species of the genus ''[[Microtus]]'' are known to be hunted by common buzzards and even this is probably conservative, moreover similar species like [[lemming]]s will be taken if available.<ref name= Redinov/><ref name= Zuberogoitia/><ref name= Sotnar/><ref name= Chernichko/><ref name= Costa>Costa, A. S. C. (2017). ''Estudo da dieta de Águia-d'asa-redonda (Buteo buteo [Linnaeus, 1758]) e de Águia-calçada (Hieraaetus pennatus [Gmelin, 1788]) em montados de sobro do Alto-Alentejo'' (Doctoral dissertation).</ref>

Other rodents are taken largely opportunistically rather than by preference. Several [[Apodemus|wood mice]] (''Apodemus ssp.'') are known to be taken quite frequently but given their preference for activity in deeper woods than the field-forest interfaces preferred, they are rarely more than secondary food items.<ref name= Halle/><ref name= Selas2/> An exception was in [[Samara Oblast|Samara]] where the [[yellow-necked mouse]] (''Apodemus flavicollis''), one of the largest of its genus at {{cvt|28.4|g}}, made up 20.9%, putting it just behind the common vole in importance.<ref name= Redinov/> Similarly, [[tree squirrel]]s are readily taken but rarely important in the foods of buzzards in Europe, as buzzards apparently prefer to avoid taking prey from trees nor do they possess the agility typically necessary to capture significant quantities of tree squirrels.<ref name= Brown/><ref name= Selas/><ref>McComb, A. M. (2004). ''Raptor Predation Attempts on Grey Squirrels Sciurus carolinensis (Gmelin)''. The Irish Naturalists' Journal, 27(12), 483–484.</ref><ref>Lima, S. L., Valone, T. J., & Caraco, T. (1985). ''Foraging-efficiency-predation-risk trade-off in the grey squirrel''. Animal Behaviour, 33(1), 155–165.</ref> All four [[ground squirrel]]s that range (mostly) into eastern Europe are also known to be common buzzard prey but little quantitative analysis has gone into how significant such predator-prey relations are.<ref>Ramos-Lara, N., Koprowski, J. L., Kryštufek, B., & Hoffmann, I. E. (2014). ''Spermophilus citellus (Rodentia: sciuridae)''. Mammalian Species, 46(913), 71–87.</ref><ref>Matrosova, V. A., Schneiderová, I., Volodin, I. A., & Volodina, E. V. (2012). ''Species-specific and shared features in vocal repertoires of three Eurasian ground squirrels (genus Spermophilus)''. Acta Theriologica, 57(1), 65–78.</ref><ref>Makomaska-Juchiewicz, M., & Baran, P. (2012). ''Monitoring gatunków zwierząt''. Przewodnik metodyczny. Część III. GIOŚ, Warszawa, 292–496.</ref><ref name= Palomar>Palomar, C. J. P. (2005). ''El ratonero común (Buteo buteo insularum) en Fuerteventura, islas Canarias (Aves, Accipitridae)''. Vieraea, 33, 1–7.</ref> Rodent prey taken have ranged in size from the {{cvt|7.8|g}} [[Eurasian harvest mouse]] (''Micromys minutus'') to the non-native, {{cvt|1100|g|lb}} [[muskrat]] (''Ondatra zibethicus'').<ref name= Steiner>Steiner, H. (1999). ''Der Mäusebussard (Buteo buteo) als Indikator für Struktur und Bodennutzung des ländlichen Raumes: produktivität im heterogenen Habitat, Einfluß von Nahrung und Witterung und Vergleiche zum Habicht (Accipiter gentilis) (Vol. 62)''. Biologiezentrum des OÖ. Landesmuseums.</ref> Other rodents taken either seldom or in areas where the food habits of buzzards are spottily known include [[flying squirrel]]s, [[marmot]]s (presumably very young if taken alive), [[Siberian chipmunk|chipmunks]], [[Coypu|spiny rats]], [[hamster]]s, [[Blesmol|mole-rats]], [[Cape gerbil|gerbils]], [[Tristram's jird|jirds]] and [[Williams' jerboa|jerboa]]s and occasionally hearty numbers of [[dormice]], although these are nocturnal.<ref name= Herremans/><ref name= Sidorovich/><ref name= Sotnar/><ref name= Chernichko/><ref>Åberg, B., & Hungate, F. P. (Eds.). (2013). ''Radioecological Concentration Processes: Proceedings of an International Symposium Held in Stockholm'', 25–29 April 1966. Elsevier.</ref><ref>Chapuis, J.L. (2006). ''Tamias sibiricus''. Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventories.</ref><ref name= Pinowski>Pinowski, J., & Ryszkowski, L. (1962). ''The Buzzard’s versatility as a predator''. British Birds, 55, 470–475.</ref><ref>Toyran, K., & Albayrak, İ. (2009). ''Contribution to the Biological Characteristics of Allactaga williamsi Thomas, 1897 in Kırıkkale Province (Mammalia: Rodentia) ''. Uluslararası Doğa ve Mühendislik Bilimleri Dergisi, (1), 13–17.</ref><ref>Nachtigall, W. (1996). ''Siebenschlafer (Glis glis; Mammalia: Rodentia: Gliridae) als Beute des Mausebussards (Buteo buteo, Aves: Falconiformes: Accipitridae)''. (Beitrage zur Saugetierfauna Sachsens, No. 1). Faunistische Abhandlungen, 20: 320.</ref> Surprisingly little research has gone into the diets of wintering steppe buzzards in southern Africa, considering their numerous status there. However, it has been indicated that the main prey remains consist of rodents such as the [[four-striped grass mouse]] (''Rhabdomys pumilio'') and [[Cape mole-rat]]s (''Georychus capensis'').<ref name= Steyn/><ref name= Gwynn>Gwynn, L. (2015). ''The identity, origin, and impact of a 'new' buzzard species breeding in South Africa'' (Doctoral dissertation, University of Cape Town).</ref>

Other than rodents, two other groups of mammals can be counted as significant to the diet of common buzzards. One of these main prey types of import in the diets of common buzzards are [[Leporidae|leporids]] or [[Lagomorpha|lagomorphs]], especially the [[European rabbit]] (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') where it is found in numbers in a wild or feral state. In all dietary studies from Scotland, rabbits were highly important to the buzzard's diet. In southern Scotland, rabbits constituted 40.8% of remains at nests and 21.6% of pellet contents, while lagomorphs (mainly rabbits but also some young [[hare]]s) were present in 99% of remains in [[Moray]], Scotland. The nutritional richness relative to the commonest prey elsewhere, such as voles, might account for the high productivity of buzzards here. For example, clutch sizes were twice as large on average where rabbits were common (Moray) than were where they were rare ([[Glen Urquhart]]).<ref name= Graham/><ref name= Swann/><ref name= Swan>Swan, G. (2011). ''Spatial variation in the breeding success of the common buzzard Buteo buteo in relation to habitat type and diet'' (Doctoral dissertation, Department of Life Sciences, Silwood Park, Imperial College London).</ref> In northern [[Ireland]], an area of interest because it is devoid of any native [[vole]] species, rabbits were again the main prey. Here, lagomorphs constituted 22.5% of prey items by number and 43.7% by biomass.<ref name= Rooney>Rooney, E., & Montgomery, W. I. (2013). ''Diet diversity of the Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) in a vole-less environment''. Bird Study, 60(2), 147–155.</ref> While rabbits are non-native, albeit long-established, in the British Isles, in their native area of the [[Iberian peninsula]], rabbits are similarly significant to the buzzard's diet. In [[Region of Murcia|Murcia]], Spain, rabbits were the most common mammal in the diet, making up 16.8% of 167 prey items.<ref name= Zuberogoitia/> In a large study from northeastern Spain, rabbits were dominant in the buzzard's foods, making up 66.5% of 598 prey items.<ref name= Manosa/> In the [[Netherlands]], European rabbits were second in number (19.1% of 6624 prey items) only to common voles and the largest contributor of biomass to nests (36.7%).<ref name= Bijlsma/> Outside of these (at least historically) rabbit-rich areas, [[Hare|leverets]] of the common hare species found in Europe can be important supplemental prey. [[European hare]] (''Lepus europaeus'') were the fourth most important prey species in central [[Poland]] and the third most significant prey species in [[Stavropol Krai]], Russia.<ref name= Chernichko/><ref name= Pinowski/> Buzzards normally attack the young of European rabbits and hares. Most of the rabbits taken by buzzard variously been estimated from {{cvt|159|to|550|g}}, and infrequently up to {{cvt|700|g|lb}} in weight.<ref name= Bijlsma/><ref name= Manosa/><ref name= Rooney/><ref name= Swann/><ref name = walls.>Walls, Sean, and Robert Kenward. The common buzzard. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020.</ref> Similarly, in different areas and the mean weight of [[European hare|brown hares]] taken in Finland was around {{cvt|500|g|lb}}.<ref name= Reif>Reif, V., Tornberg, R., Jungell, S., & Korpimäki, E. (2001). ''Diet variation of common buzzards in Finland supports the alternative prey hypothesis''. Ecography, 24(3), 267–274.</ref> One young [[mountain hare]]s (''Lepus timidus'') taken in Norway was estimated to about {{cvt|1000|g|lb}}.<ref name= Selas/> However, common buzzards are known to kill adult rabbits at times.<ref name = walls./> This can be supported by remains of relatively large-sized tarsus bones of the rabbit, up to 64mm in length.<ref name= Manosa/><ref>Tobajas, Jorge, et al. "Does prey abundance affect prey size selection by the Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo)?." Journal of Ornithology 162.3 (2021): 699-708.</ref>

The other significant mammalian prey type is [[Eulipotyphla|insectivores]], among which more than 20 species are known to be taken by this species, including nearly all the species of [[shrew]], [[Mole (animal)|mole]] and [[hedgehog]] found in Europe. Moles are taken particularly often among this order, since as is the case with "vole-holes", buzzards probably tend to watch molehills in fields for activity and dive quickly from their perch when one of the subterranean mammals pops up.<ref>Skierczyński, M. (2006). ''Food niche overlap of three sympatric raptors breeding in an agricultural landscape in Western Pomerania region of Poland''.</ref> The most widely found mole in the buzzard's northern range is the {{cvt|98|g}} [[European mole]] (''Talpa europaea'') and this is one of the more important non-rodent prey items for the species. This species was present in 55% of 101 remains in [[Glen Urquhart]], Scotland and was the second most common prey species (18.6%) in 606 prey items in [[Slovakia]].<ref name= Sotnar/><ref name= Swann>Swann, R. L., & Etheridge, B. (1995). ''A comparison of breeding success and prey of the Common Buzzard Buteo buteo in two areas of northern Scotland''. Bird Study, 42(1), 37–43.</ref> In [[Bari]], Italy, the [[Roman mole]] (''Talpa romana''), of similar size to the European species, was the leading identified mammalian prey, making up 10.7% of the diet.<ref name= Scillitani>Scillitani, G. (1999). ''Dieta della poiana, Buteo buteo (L., 1758) in provincia di Bari''. Avocetta, 23: 169.</ref> The full-size range of insectivores may be taken by buzzards, ranging from the world's smallest mammal (by weight), the {{cvt|1.8|g}} [[Etruscan shrew]] (''Suncus etruscus'') to arguably the heaviest insectivore, the {{cvt|800|g}} [[European hedgehog]] (''Erinaceus europaeus'').<ref name= Swann/><ref name= Manosa>Manosa, S. & Cordero, P.J. (1992). ''SEASONAL AND SEXUAL VARIATION IN THE DIET OF THE COMMON BUZZARD IN NORTHEASTERN SPAIN''. J. Raptor Res., 26(4), 235–238.</ref> Mammalian prey for common buzzards other than rodents, insectivores, and lagomorphs is rarely taken. Occasionally, some [[weasel]]s such as [[least weasel]] (''Mustela nivalis'') and [[stoat]] (''Mustela erminea'') are taken, and remains of young [[pine marten]]s (''Martes martes'') and adult [[european polecat]]s (''Mustela putorius'') was found in buzzard nest.<ref name= Selas2/><ref name= Bijlsma/><ref name= Chernichko/><ref name= Graham/><ref>Korpimäki, E., & Norrdahl, K. (1989). ''Avian predation on mustelids in Europe 1: occurrence and effects on body size variation and life traits''. Oikos, 205–215.</ref><ref name = Francksen>Francksen, R. M., Whittingham, M. J., & Baines, D. (2016). ''Assessing prey provisioned to Common Buzzard Buteo buteo chicks: a comparison of methods''. Bird Study, 63(3), 303–310.</ref> Numerous larger mammals, including medium-sized carnivores such as [[dog]]s, [[cat]]s and [[Red fox|fox]]es and various [[ungulate]]s, are sometimes eaten as carrion by buzzards, mainly during lean winter months. Still-borns of [[deer]] are also visited with some frequency.<ref name= Sidorovich/><ref name= Swann/><ref name= Palomar/><ref>Selva, N., Jedrzejewska, B., Jedrzejewski, W., & Wajrak, A. (2003). ''Scavenging on European bison carcasses in Bialowieza primeval forest (eastern Poland)''. Ecoscience, 10(3), 303–311.</ref>