Home Log Out
Birdpedia - Australia         | Home | Birds | Calendar | Reserves | Field Trips | Sightings | Reports | Contacts | [HBW - BirdLife (v3)] 30/03/2024 12:58:53 AM
Species Database
Find
Quick Links
News
 
Species Details [Taxonomy: HBW - BirdLife (v3)] Print... Email... 

 LC    Pacific Baza* Id (Atlas): 234
    Aviceda subcristata

Description (10)
Image of Pacific Baza
  Medium, with long crest. Sexes alike.

Adults: Head, plain grey, with a slim black crest. Eye, yellow. Upperparts, chest, slate-grey. Breast, white with bold dark brown bars. Wings, uppertail, dark brown. Undertail, pale grey with dark bars and a black terminal band. Underwings have pale rufous leading edge, primaries boldy barred. Thighs, vent, pale rufous. Bill, black. Legs, grey.

Immatures: Like adult but browner above, with rusty feather margins. Upperbreast, buff. Bars on breast thinner. Undertail, strongly barred. Bill, black. Legs, grey.


Other Names (World)
Pacific Baza, Crested Hawk, Lizard Hawk, Pacific Lizard Hawk, Crested Baza, Lizard Baza

Family
Accipitridae (Hawks, Eagles)

Size
35 - 43 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Gould, 1838)

Derivation
Avi-ce'-da - L., avis, bird: sub-cris-ta'-ta - L., cristatus, crested

Remarks
As an aid to identification in flight the following silhouettes may be of assistance



Gliding



Soaring

Abundance (Guide)
UC

Uncommon across north and north-east Australia, and rare in New South Wales.

Habitat
Margins of rainforests, belts of timber bordering rivers and plains.

Range (Guide)
Australia (B), Indonesia (B), Papua New Guinea (B), Solomon Islands (B), Timor-Leste (B) (NB).

Image of Range of Pacific Baza
Northern and eastern Australia, west to the Kimberley and south to about Sysdney, NSW.
 
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is 10,000 (2010).

Status LC
Vulnerable.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
Usually in pairs or small groups.

Food
Mainly insects, gathered from the outer foliage of trees. Also lizards and mice.

Voice
A weak piping. A descending, mellow, double whiste, 'ee-choo, ee-choo', uttered in flight.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (21)...)

 
Pacific Baza (Aviceda subcristata) [XC173900]
     by Niels Krabbe from Near Torokina, Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea (call)

 
Pacific Baza (Aviceda subcristata) [XC438827]
     by Marc Anderson from Mango Lagoon, Oyala-Thumotang NP, Queensland, Australia (song)

Breeding Season (Guide)
Usually October - December.

J F M A M J J A S O N D
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


Nest
A flimsy, shallow structure, composed of sticks, twigs and leaves, lined with leaves, usually on a horizontal limb, supported by several upright twigs, 15 - 30 meters above the ground.

Eggs (Guide)
2 or 3, rarely 5; plain white with blue tinge, occasionally stained and blotched, rough to fine in texture with faint sheen; rounded-oval; about 43 x 34 mm. Incubation: about 33 days; by both sexes.

Young
Semi-altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in 32 - 35 days.

Subspecies
Probably forms superspecies with Jerdon's Baza (Aviceda jerdoni), African Cuckoo-hawk (Aviceda cuculoides) and Madagascar Cuckoo-hawk (Aviceda madagascariensis). Pacific Baza (Aviceda subcristata), Jerdon's Baza (Aviceda jerdoni), African Cuckoo-hawk (Aviceda cuculoides) and Madagascar Cuckoo-hawk (Aviceda madagascariensis) sometimes considered conspecific.

Previously recognised subspecies proxima and robusta now included in gurneyi. Subspecies njikena of north-western Australia doubtfully separable from nominate subcristata.

The following 13 subspecies are recognised:

  • timorlaoensis (Meyer, AB, 1893)   -  Islands off Sulawesi, Lesser Sundas.
  • pallida (Stresemann, 1913)   -  Southern Moluccas.
  • reinwardtii (Schlegel & Müller, S, 1841)   -  Central Moluccas.
  • stresemanni (Siebers, 1930)   -  Buru (central Moluccas).
  • rufa (Schlegel, 1866)   -  Northern Moluccas.
  • waigeuensis Mayr, 1940   -  Waigeo I.
  • obscura Junge, 1956   -  Biak I.
  • stenozona (Gray, GR, 1858)   -  Western New Guinea, Aru Is.
  • megala (Stresemann, 1913)   -  Eastern New Guinea.
  • coultasi Mayr, 1945   -  Admiralty Is.
  • bismarckii (Sharpe, 1888)   -  Bismarck Archipelago.
  • gurneyi (Ramsay, EP, 1882)   -  Solomon Is.
  • subcristata (Gould, 1838)   -  Northern & north-eastern Australia.


Similar Species
Brown Goshawk (Accipiter fasciatus)
With immatures. Has finer barring on underparts. Legs longer. Lacks a crest.

Collared Sparrowhawk (Accipiter cirrocephalus)
With immatures. Has finer barring on underparts. Legs longer. Lacks a crest.

Compare Images

Notes
The only bird of prey in Australia that has an obvious crest. The Black-breasted Buzzard (Hamirostra melanosternon) and Red Goshawk (Erythrotriorchis radiatus) has fine crests not always apparent.


References
See References.

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9


Files:
JPG files for Pacific Baza (Aviceda subcristata) - 10 files


More Information

BirdLife International

For more information about the Pacific Baza see... Show Articles BirdLife International Species Factsheet.


Articles about the Pacific Baza

If you would like to read any articles about the Pacific Baza... Show Articles Show Articles (0)


No Pictures of Pacific Baza

If Birdpedia has no pictures of Pacific Baza or you would like to see more, then try the following...

      Show External Images from BING From BING (10)


No Videos of Pacific Baza

If Birdpedia has no videos of Pacific Baza or you would like to see more, then try the following..

      Show External Videos From BING (0)


Where can I observe this species?
Select an area (or leave blank) to see locations where this species has been recorded.

Area
  All   

Optional: Complete the following if you wish to restrict the reserve to within a given distance of a location.

Please enter the Latitude and Longitiude of a given location together with the maximum distance (km) to display a list of reserves within that distance. You must enter a Latitude, a Longitude and a distance greater than 0.
 
Latitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)
Deg Min Sec     Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
         or   GPS help
Longitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)
Deg Min Sec     Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
         or   Find GPS using Google Maps
Distance Bearing  
Get Sample GPS readings


On What Field Trips was this species observed?
Select an area (or leave blank), and a date range, to see field trips on which this species has been recorded.

Area
  All   

From To  
 

Optional: Complete the following if you wish to restrict the reserve to within a given distance of a location.

Please enter the Latitude and Longitiude of a given location together with the maximum distance (km) to display a list of reserves within that distance. You must enter a Latitude, a Longitude and a distance greater than 0.
 
Latitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)
Deg Min Sec     Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
         or   GPS help
Longitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)
Deg Min Sec     Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
         or
Distance Bearing  
Get Sample GPS readings


Latest Sightings for Pacific Baza
Select the Area to restrict the Sightings.

Area
  All