Ardea
Official journal of the Netherlands Ornithologists' Union

login


[close window] [previous abstract] [next abstract]

Siegfried W.R. & Frost P.G.H. (1973) Systematic notes on the small African buteos. ARDEA 61 (1-2): 123-127
Descriptions are given of some plumage characters of the African Mountain Buzzards (Buteo o. oreophilus in East Africa; B. o. trizonatus in South Africa) and the Palaearctic Steppe Buzzard B. buteo vulpinus. Many modern authors consider oreophilus and trizonatus to be conspecific with B. buteo; Vaurie (1961) followed by Brown & Amadon (1968) being notable exceptions. The present authors consider the consistent dissimilarity of the colour pattern of the breast in the adult African and Palaearctic buzzards to be indicative of a distinction at the species level. Oreophilus and trizonatus occur in geographically widely separated areas. They should be known as B. oreophilus oreophilus Hartert & Neumann and B. oreophilus trizonatus Rudebeck.


[close window] [previous abstract] [next abstract]