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In Britain, the word buzzard refers chiefly to several birds of prey of the hawk genus Buteo. In North America, a buzzard is any of various New World vultures, especially the turkey vulture. In Australia, a large hawk of the genus Hamirostra is called a black-breasted buzzard. Buteos, also called buzzard hawks, can usually be distinguished when soaring by their broad wings and expansive rounded tail. The plumage of most species is dark brown above and white or mottled brown below; the tail and underside of the wings are usually barred. Buteos customarily prey on insects, small mammals, and occasionally birds. They nest in trees or on cliffs. Species range over much of the New World, Eurasia, and Africa. The red-tailed hawk, the most common North American buteo, is about 2 ft (60 cm) long.
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Examples of buzzard in a Sentence
Diana Durán, Washington Post, 4 Oct. 2023
Dogs and buzzards fought over a dead cat in the middle of the street, directly across from an officer who watched the ferocious struggle from a barred window, twirling the ends of his moustache.
—Alexander Sammon, Harper's Magazine, 25 July 2022
And birds of prey like buzzards, sparrowhawks, barn owls, and tawny owls.
—Elizabeth Waddington, Treehugger, 13 Sep. 2023
The black vulture has a black head and is different from the turkey vulture, which is the bird most of us in Alabama call a buzzard.
—Ike Morgan | Imorgan@al.com, al, 3 July 2023
Twenty-six bird species in the world are called buzzards, including the honey-buzzard, the lizard buzzard, the forest buzzard and the long-legged buzzard.
—Jerry Butler, Arkansas Online, 31 Oct. 2022
If there are fewer small mammals, there is less food for their natural predators, such as red foxes, steppe polecats, upland buzzards, brown bears and mountain weasels.
—Melissa Breyer, Treehugger, 24 May 2023
After the stylist initially refused Spears’ request, the singer grabbed a nearby electric razor and began shaving her head herself while a horde of paparazzi circled the salon like buzzards, snapping photos of the singer inside.
—Colin Scanlon, Redbook, 8 May 2023
Like buzzards and vultures, condors are scavengers—aka nature’s clean-up crew—that feast on the remains of dead animals.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 May 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'buzzard.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Middle English busard, from Old French, alteration of buison, from Latin buteon, buteo hawk
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing buzzard
Dictionary Entries Near buzzard
Cite this Entry
“Buzzard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/buzzard. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
buzzard
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on buzzard
Nglish: Translation of buzzard for Spanish Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about buzzard
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