Augur Buzzard
Buteo augur (Rüppell, 1836)
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.

Augur buzzard (Buteo augur), Sanetti Plateau, Ethiopia
Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The augur buzzard (Buteo augur) is a fairly large African bird of prey. This species is distinct in typical adult plumage for its blackish back, whitish underside and orange-red tail, while juvenile augur buzzards are generally rather brown in colour; however a dark morph is known, which causes the bird's entire body to become darker. This member of the Buteo genus is distributed in several parts of the central and southern Africa, normally being found from Ethiopia to southern Angola and central Namibia. It is resident and non-migratory throughout its range. This is a species of mountains (most typically at about 2,000 m (6,600 ft) altitude, but up to 5,000 m (16,000 ft)), and adjacent savannah and grassland. It is a typical buteonine raptor, being a generalist predator which tends to prefer small mammals supplemented by reptiles and birds among various prey items.
Wikipedia contributors, Augur buzzard; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:11:51.450608+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Buteo augur (Rüppell, 1836)
- Name authority
- (Rüppell, 1836)
- Common name
- Augur 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 augur (Rüppell, 1836)
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 |
| Himalayan BuzzardButeo refectus Portenko, 1935 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Falco augur Rüppell, 1836 Rüppell, 1836 | 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=558954 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.
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:NYV2. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.