The Rough-legged Buzzard (Buteo lagopus) breeds on the fells and northern mires but is seen across the whole of Sweden during the winter half of the year, recognised by its large black belly patch, white tail base and habit of hovering over open ground while hunting voles. It is a medium-to-large raptor, 50–61 cm long with a wingspan of around 120–150 cm and a weight of 0.6–1.7 kg, the female heavier, and appears somewhat larger and longer-winged than the Common Buzzard. The plumage is light greyish-brown with a striking pattern: the tail is white at the base with a broad dark end-band, the belly carries a large dark patch, and the wing shows pale panels at the base of the primaries giving strong contrast from below. The legs are feathered to the toes, the trait behind the genus name lagopus, "hare-foot". Its call is a drawn-out, mewing "piaaah" recalling a cat's cry, coarser than the Common Buzzard's, heard mainly on the breeding grounds.
The species breeds on the fells and fell-edge forest of northern Sweden, with a breeding population of roughly 5,000–10,000 pairs that fluctuates sharply from year to year with small rodent availability. As a short-distance migrant it leaves the breeding areas in September and October to winter across nearly the whole country, in open agricultural land and mire landscapes, returning north in April; in winter it can be seen even in the plains of southern Sweden. The stick nest is built on a rock ledge, in a fell crag or in a low tree, where the female lays 2–5 eggs incubated for about 30–32 days — breeding success is strongly tied to vole numbers, with rich rodent years producing large broods and poor years sometimes causing breeding to fail entirely. Voles and lemmings form the core of the diet, and the buzzard hunts by hovering on rapid wingbeats above open ground before dropping onto its prey.
Read about this species in Swedish →