COMMON BUZZARD
I fooled myself into believing the buzzards here were of the long-legged variety, but on closer inspection, I now think they are common buzzards. When they are circling above you with no size comparisons and similar plumage, I find it difficult to separate the two. These buzzards are very numerous here, and you cannot go far before you here their wonderful plaintive cries. The main differences between the long-legged (dark morph), and the common, seems to be a paler chest and an off-white tail which is densely barred grey. Many of the locals here confuse the buzzards with eagles. A definitive difference between the two is that buzzards have 5 fingers on each wing, whereas eagles have 6 or more.
Buzzards are not fussy eaters and will try most things that move, including, small rodents, amphibians, rabbits, insects, earthworms and even small birds. As I mentioned earlier, they are quite common on Kefalonia and can be seen from the cliffs along the coasts, through the valleys and farmland and up into the hills and mountains.
