- Aviceda subcristata
Identification
Also known as the Crested Hawk or Baza, or the Pacific Cuckoo-Falcon
Medium sized. This hawk has a long tail and prominent crest. The head, neck and breast are grey and the underparts are white with bold dark banding. It has short legs. The eyes are yellow and domed. The female is heavier and browner on the crown than the male.
Distribution
Northern and eastern Australia, Indo-Malayan peninsula, New Guinea and nearby islands and the Solomon Islands.
Taxonomy
About 16 subspecies are recognised: nominate race is found in eastern and north-eastern Australia, njikena in north-western Australia. Race timorlaoensis is found from Lombok to Timor and Babar, rufa in the Obi Islands and North Moluccas, stresemanni on Buru, reinwardtii on Seram and Ambon, pallida in the Kei Islands, obscura on Biak, waigeuensis on Waigeo, stenozona in western New Guinea, the Aru Islands and Misol, megala in eastern New Guinea, Fergusson and Goodenough Islands, bismarckii in New Britain, New Ireland and New Hanover, coultasi in the Admiralty Islands and Manus, gurneyi on San Cristobal, Ugi, Santa Anna, Malaita and Guadalcanal, robusta on Choiseul and Ysabel Islands, and proxima on Bougainville and Shortland Islands.
Habitat
Tropical and subtropical woodlands and forest and sometimes grasslands, farmlands and urban areas. They prefer well-watered areas.
Behaviour
Its diet includes large insects, particularly stick insects and mantids, frogs and fruit.
The nest is flimsy and flat and made of sticks; it is placed high in the upper leafy branches of a tree. 2-4 eggs are laid. Both parents brood and feed the chicks.