Coastal Silver-stiletto vs Rough-Legged Buzzard

Acrosathe annulata compared with Buteo lagopus

Key Differences

• Coastal Silver-stiletto is Least Concern while Rough-Legged Buzzard is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Coastal Silver-stiletto	Rough-Legged Buzzard
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Diptera (Diptera)	Accipitriformes (Hawks & Eagles)
Family	Therevidae	Accipitridae (Hawks & Eagles)
Genus	Acrosathe	Buteo
Species	Acrosathe annulata	Buteo lagopus

Evolutionary Relationship

Coastal Silver-stiletto and Rough-Legged Buzzard share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Coastal Silver-stiletto

LC — Least Concern

Rough-Legged Buzzard

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Coastal Silver-stiletto	Rough-Legged Buzzard
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Coastal Silver-stiletto

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Rough-Legged Buzzard

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (United States). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Coastal Silver-stiletto

Coastal silver stiletto (Acrosathe annulata) is a slender robber fly in the family Therevidae, native to northwestern Europe, including the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Scandinavia. Adults are found on coastal sand dunes and sandy heathland, where they perch on bare sand to ambush small flying insects. Stiletto flies in the family Therevidae are characterised by a slender body, long pointed abdomen, and predatory habits; adults prey on a variety of small dipterans and other flying insects during warm, sunny periods. Larvae develop in sandy soil, where they are also predatory, feeding on other invertebrate larvae. Acrosathe annulata is a habitat specialist restricted to open, sandy coastal habitats with sparse vegetation—environments that have declined substantially across northwestern Europe due to dune stabilisation, recreational disturbance, and the cessation of traditional dune management. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern, though regional conservation bodies in the United Kingdom have flagged population declines. It is considered an indicator of high-quality coastal sand dune habitats and is monitored through national invertebrate surveys.

Rough-Legged Buzzard

Rough-Legged Buzzard (Buteo lagopus) is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. Close to qualifying as threatened, with populations that may become vulnerable without conservation action.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden