Abstract: There is limited research on the eastern buzzard (Buteo japonicus), a second-level national protected bird in China. Understanding its migration routes is of great significance for the conservation of its population and related habitats. Migration routes of six eastern buzzards rescued in Hebei and Henan were obtained by satellite tracking during 2016-2019. The home range of eastern buzzards in wintering and summering grounds was calculated in R by kernel density analysis method. The results showed that eastern buzzards were found in the Xiaoxing’an Mountains of Heilongjiang and Daxing’an Mountains of Inner Mongolia in China, as well as in the Central Siberian Plateau, the Jieya River Plain and the Bureya Mountains of Russia in summer. It was a typical daytime migratory species, with the peak of migration between 09:00 and 14:00. There were many short-term stopover sites. Eastern buzzards mainly used trees, grassland, and farmland, with the utilization rate differing across seasons. Trees were mostly used, followed by grassland and farmland during the spring and fall migration stopover, while trees and farmland were mostly used during the summering and wintering periods, respectively. By revealing the detailed migration routes of wintering eastern buzzards in the central and eastern China for the first time, our results provide detailed information for the conservation of eastern buzzard populations in China.

Key words: eastern buzzard, home range, migration route, satellite tracking