A generally common, widespread, stocky, medium-large bird of prey, often seen perched on poles, wires, or fences, or soaring with wings held up in a V-shape; unremarkable pattern on most individuals.

In much of western Britain this is the most common and obvious bird of prey, even more numerous than the Kestrel and certainly much easier to see than the Sparrowhawk. It is well able to survive in farmland regions: a mixture of cultivated fields, permanent pasture, hedges, and woodland makes perfect Buzzard habitat. Yet despite its fondness for such mixed, farmed landscapes it is equally a bird of remote moors, bogs, and cliffs, although normally not far from at least some scattered trees or open woodland.