Common Buzzard, Northern Goshawk, Common Swift, Crossbill, Moorhen, Curlew, Tawny Owl, Fulmar, Black Woodpecker, Congo Peafowl, Griffon Vulture, Hyacinth Macaw, Maguari Stork and Papua Hornbill. Experimental: Check out our page with interactive 3D models of bird skulls.

Because a lot of birds are roughly the same size, the skull is the best place to identify the bird. Both the skull and lower jaw were here: Dad knew just from the size of the skull it was a buzzard. It is 7.3cm long and 4.3cm wide, which is slightly smaller than the figures on Skullsite.com.

Side, top and bottom view of skull. (Click on image to enlarge) No bird has been killed to get its skull or skeleton for this collection. All wild birds died of natural causes or accidental, and in a few cases due to legal hunting by others, or died in captivity.

Here were some of the better preserved feathers: This is the buzzard skull. There wasn't much soft tissue but it wasn't as clean as I would have ideally liked either. The body was not as bad as it looked. This wasn't really soft tissue, but a mixture of muck and feathers. I just had to feel through with my fingertips.

At the time my first guess was that it must be a buzzard because of the size, and because buzzard skulls are the most common bird of prey about these woods. A buzzard skull is normally about 7cm long and about 4cm wide. Here is the back of the mystery skull (on the right) next to a buzzard skull. They look similar but there are differences.

Atlas (A) and axis (B) of a Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo). A: 1 - vertebral arch, 2 - glenoidal cavity for occipital condyle of skull, 3 - ventral process, 4 - transverse process, and 5 - lateral vertebral notch. B: 1 - dens, 2 - articular facet for atlas, 3 - vertebral foramen,

skull (cranium) of a common buzzard (buteo buteo) 3D scanning performed with the structured light scanner “Solutionix c500”

Experimental: Check out our page with interactive 3D models of bird skulls. More models will be added soon. No bird has been killed to get its skull or skeleton for this collection. All wild birds died of natural causes or accidental, and in a few cases …

Check out our buzzard skull selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our bones & skulls shops.

It’s the skeleton of a common buzzard (Buteo buteo) and it means a lot to me because the skeleton was a birthday present from a good friend of mine. I got it years ago and I only displayed the skull but I wanted to show the whole bunch!