Long-legged Buzzard, Buteo rufinus, is a species of day-flying bird of prey found in grassland, heathland and shrub and unvegetated or sparsely vegetated land ecosystems. It breeds across South-Eastern Europe. This species inhabits uncultivated and dry scrubby areas near to suitable nest sites on crags, gorges and mountains up to 1,600 m. Nests are built mainly on cliffs but it does sometimes use trees in rural regions and electricity pylons (European Red List 2015).

Buteo rufinus has a breeding population size of 1300-2100 pairs and a breeding range size of 175000 square kilometres in the EU27. The breeding population trend in the EU27 is Increasing in the short term and Increasing in the long term.

The EU population status of Buteo rufinus was assessed as Secure, because the species does not meet any of the IUCN Red List criteria for threatened or Near Threatened, or the criteria for Depleted or Declining (the EU27 population or range has not declined by 20% or more since 1980).