Editing Common buzzard (section)

===Birds===
[[File:Crow attacking Buzzard - Woburn Safari Park (4552169984).jpg|thumb|right|A [[Carrion crow|crow]] mobs a buzzard. Buzzards will readily prey on crows, especially their fledglings.]]
When attacking birds, common buzzards chiefly prey on nestlings and fledglings of small to medium-sized birds, largely [[passerine]]s but also a variety of [[Galliformes|gamebirds]], but sometimes also injured, sickly or unwary but healthy adults. While capable of overpowering birds larger than itself, the common buzzard is usually considered to lack the agility necessary to capture many adult birds, even gamebirds which would presumably be weaker fliers considering their relatively heavy bodies and small wings.<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= Brown/> The amount of fledgling and younger birds preyed upon relative to adults is variable, however. For example, in the [[Alps|Italian Alps]], 72% of birds taken were fledglings or recently fledged juveniles, 19% were nestlings and 8% were adults.<ref name= Sergio>Sergio, F., Boto, A., Scandolara, C., & Bogliani, G. (2002). ''Density, nest sites, diet, and productivity of Common Buzzards (Buteo buteo) in the Italian pre-Alps''. Journal of Raptor Research, 36(1), 24–32.</ref> On the contrary, in southern [[Scotland]], even though the buzzards were taking relatively large bird prey, largely [[red grouse]] (''Lagopus lagopus scotica''), 87% of birds taken were reportedly adults.<ref name= Graham/> In total, as in many raptorial birds that are far from bird-hunting specialists, birds are the most diverse group in the buzzard's prey spectrum due to the sheer number and diversity of birds, few raptors do not hunt them at least occasionally. Nearly 150 species of bird have been identified in the common buzzard's diet. In general, despite many that are taken, birds usually take a secondary position in the diet after mammals.<ref name= Selas2/><ref name= Bijlsma/><ref name= Chernichko/> In northern [[Scotland]], birds were fairly numerous in the foods of buzzards. The most often recorded avian prey and 2nd and 3rd most frequent prey species (after only field voles) in [[Glen Urquhart]], were {{cvt|23.9|g}} [[chaffinch]] (''Fringilla coelebs'') and {{cvt|18.4|g}} [[meadow pipit]]s (''Anthus pratensis''), with the buzzards taking 195 fledglings of these species against only 90 adults. This differed from [[Moray]] where the most frequent avian prey and 2nd most frequent prey species behind the rabbit was the {{cvt|480|g}} [[common wood pigeon]] (''Columba palumbus'') and the buzzards took four times as many adults relative to fledglings.<ref name= Swann/>

Birds were the primary food for common buzzards in the [[Alps|Italian Alps]], where they made up 46% of the diet against mammal which accounted for 29% in 146 prey items. The leading prey species here were {{cvt|103|g}} [[Eurasian blackbird]]s (''Turdus merula'') and {{cvt|160|g}} [[Eurasian jay]]s (''Garrulus glandarius''), albeit largely fledglings were taken of both.<ref name= Sergio/> Birds could also take the leading position in years with low vole populations in southern [[Norway]], in particular [[thrush (bird)|thrush]]es, namely the blackbird, the {{cvt|67.7|g}} [[song thrush]] (''Turdus philomelos'') and the {{cvt|61|g}} [[redwing]] (''Turdus iliacus''), which were collectively 22.1% of 244 prey items in 1993.<ref name= Selas2/> In southern Spain, birds were equal in number to mammals in the diet, both at 38.3%, but most remains were classified as "unidentified medium-sized birds", although the most often identified species of those that apparently could be determined were Eurasian jays and [[red-legged partridge]]s (''Alectoris rufa'').<ref name= Zuberogoitia/> Similarly, in northern [[Ireland]], birds were roughly equal in import to mammals but most were unidentified [[corvid]]s.<ref name= Rooney/> In [[Seversky Donets]], Ukraine, birds and mammals both made up 39.3% of the foods of buzzards.<ref name= Chernichko/> Common buzzards may hunt nearly 80 species passerines and nearly all available gamebirds. Like many other largish raptors, gamebirds are attractive to hunt for buzzards due to their ground-dwelling habits. Buzzards were the most frequent predator in a study of juvenile pheasants in England, accounting for 4.3% of 725 deaths (against 3.2% by [[Red fox|foxes]], 0.7% by [[owl]]s and 0.5% by other mammals).<ref name= Kenward/><ref>Parrott, D. (2015). ''Impacts and management of common buzzards Buteo buteo at pheasant Phasianus colchicus release pens in the UK: a review''. European journal of wildlife research, 61(2), 181–197.</ref> They also prey on a wide size range of birds, ranging down to Europe's smallest bird, the {{cvt|5.2|g}} [[goldcrest]] (''Regulus regulus'').<ref name= CRC2/><ref name= Selas2/> Very few individual birds hunted by buzzards weigh more than {{cvt|500|g|lb}}. However, there have been some particularly large avian kills by buzzards, including any that weigh more or {{cvt|1000|g|lb}}, or about the largest average size of a buzzard, have including adults of [[mallard]] (''Anas platyrhynchos''), [[black grouse]] (''Tetrao tetrix''), [[ring-necked pheasant]] (''Phasianus colchicus''), [[common raven]] (''Corvus corax'') and some of the larger [[gull]]s if ambushed on their nests. The largest avian kill by a buzzard, and possibly largest known overall for the species, was an adult female [[western capercaillie]] (''Tetrao urogallus'') that weighed an estimated {{cvt|1985|g|lb}}.<ref name= Selas2/><ref name= Graham/><ref name= Bijlsma/><ref name= Sotnar/><ref name= Swann/> At times, buzzards will hunt the young of large birds such as [[Grey heron|herons]] and [[Black-necked crane|cranes]].<ref>Boonman, M. & de Vrieslaan, H. (1992). ''[Buzzard Buteo buteo examines a nest of a Grey Heron Ardea cinerea]''. Limosa, 65: 29–30.</ref><ref>[[Paul Johnsgard|Johnsgard, P. A.]] (1983). ''Cranes of the World: Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis)''. Cranes of the World, by Paul Johnsgard, Vol. 5.</ref> Other assorted avian prey has included a few species of [[waterfowl]], most available [[Columbiformes|pigeons and doves]], [[Common cuckoo|cuckoos]], [[Plain swift|swifts]], [[Little grebe|grebes]], [[Rail (bird)|rails]], nearly 20 assorted [[Charadriiformes|shorebirds]], [[Procellariiformes|tubenoses]], [[Eurasian hoopoe|hoopoes]], [[European bee-eater|bee-eaters]] and several types of [[woodpecker]]. Birds with more conspicuous or open nesting areas or habits are more likely to have fledglings or nestlings attacked, such as water birds, while those with more secluded or inaccessible nests, such as pigeons/doves and woodpeckers, adults are more likely to be hunted.<ref name= Zuberogoitia/><ref name= Bijlsma/><ref name= Sotnar/><ref name= Palomar/><ref name= Swann/><ref>Monteiro, L. R., & Furness, R. W. (1998). ''Speciation through temporal segregation of Madeiran storm petrel (Oceanodroma castro) populations in the Azores?'' Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 353(1371), 945–953.</ref><ref>Ramos, J. A., Moniz, Z., Solá, E., & Monteiro, L. R. (2003). ''Reproductive measures and chick provisioning of Cory's Shearwater Calonectris diomedea borealis in the Azores''. Bird Study, 50(1), 47–54.</ref><ref>Hoi, H., Hoi, C., Kristofik, J., & Darolova, A. (2002). ''Reproductive success decreases with colony size in the European bee-eater''. Ethology Ecology & Evolution, 14(2), 99–110.</ref>