NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Himalayan Buzzard
Buteo refectus Portenko, 1935
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Himalayan buzzard (Buteo refectus) is a medium to large bird of prey that was formerly considered a subspecies of the widespread common buzzard (Buteo buteo). It is native to the Himalayas in Nepal, India and adjacent mountains of southern China.
It was formerly given the scientific name Buteo burmanicus, but this name is now known to have been previously applied to the migratory mainland Asian subspecies of the eastern buzzard (B. japonicus burmanicus), and the Himalayan buzzard was thus renamed Buteo refectus.
Wikipedia contributors, Himalayan buzzard; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:28:25.766795+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Buteo refectus Portenko, 1935
- Name authority
- Portenko, 1935
- Common name
- Himalayan Buzzard
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Accipitriformes
- Family
- Accipitridae
- Genus
- Buteo
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderAccipitriformes
- familyAccipitridae Vigors, 1824
- genusButeo Lacépède, 1799
- speciesButeo refectus Portenko, 1935
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Buteo. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Forest BuzzardButeo trizonatus Rudebeck, 1957 | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-throated HawkButeo albigula Philippi, 1899 | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Zone-tailed HawkButeo albonotatus Kaup, 1847 | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis (J. F. Gmelin, 1788) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Augur BuzzardButeo augur (Rüppell, 1836) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-necked BuzzardButeo auguralis Salvadori, 1866 | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Common BuzzardButeo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Galapagos HawkButeo galapagoensis (Gould, 1837) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Upland BuzzardButeo hemilasius Temminck & Schlegel, 1845 | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rough-legged BuzzardButeo lagopus (Pontoppidan, 1763) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ferruginous HawkButeo regalis (G. R. Gray, 1844) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Socotra BuzzardButeo socotraensis Porter & Kirwan, 2010 | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Buteo japonicus refectus Portenko, 1935 Portenko, 1935 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1253673 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:CTSQH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.