The Long-legged Buzzard is a raptor distributed along the steppes and dry areas of Western Asia and Northern Africa. It also occurs in the Southern Balkans, where it overlaps with the European Common Buzzard. Both species are medium-sized birds of prey and are found together in many parts of mainland Greece, and on many islands where the Long-legged Buzzard favours stonier areas. This pattern changes in the Dodecanese where only the Long-legged Buzzard occurs, the region being one of its European strongholds.
Well-adapted to the Aegean environment, the Long-legged Buzzard nests on steep coastal cliffs and, less frequently, on safe remote trees, moving freely between nearby islands and islets. In the Aegean, its main food is rabbits, snakes and other large reptiles.
