Pacific baza

John Gould first presented this new species as Lepidogenys subcristatus to a Zoological Society of London meeting in December 1837, placing it into a genus (Lophotes Gray 1831, but with this new name as it was already in use for a genus of fish) The name would be formally published in April of the next year, in part 3 of Gould's A synopsis of the birds of Australia, and the adjacent islands, which reproduced the paper read the previous year. Frédéric de Lafresnaye would later—in 1846—combine the Asian Lepidogenys and African Aviceda into a single genus. However, the species was also known for some time as Baza subcristata before it was demonstrated that Aviceda held nomenclatural priority over Swainson's Baza. Johann Jakob Kaup had in the meantime placed the species in Pernis, a placement not followed by any other authors. This bird, the African cuckoo-hawk (Aviceda cuculoides), Madagascar cuckoo-hawk (A. madagascariensis), and Jerdon's baza (A. jerdoni), were previously thought to form a species complex. This hawk has 13 known subspecies: The specific name, subcristata, combines the Latin words for "somewhat" and "crested", referring to the small crest on the back of its neck. This bird was historically most commonly known as the crested hawk, but Pacific baza is now the most frequently-used common name. It is often referred to as "cuckoo-hawk" in Africa and "lizard-hawk" in India. == Description ==

The Pacific baza is a slender, medium-sized bird, with a slim head and neck. and yellow eyes, which are round and located far into the side of its head. Its thighs are reddish-brown coloured and its feet are grey. It has bands on its fingers, which are visible when flying in circles. It is the only New Guinean raptor that is crested, having a small, spiky crest on its nape. Its wings are broad, rounded, and paddle-shaped with distinct bands; they are very large in comparison to its body. They are narrowest where they meet its body, broadening to their ends. The edges of the wings are curved when the bird is in flight. The species has a long tail with a square end, which is tipped with black. It is the same length as the entire rest of its body. Females can be distinguished from males by having a slightly browner upperside and sometimes more barring on their secondary flight feathers. Juveniles can be differentiated from adults by having a much browner upperside. They also have pale eyes, rather than the sharp yellow eyes of adults, a patterned face, smaller barring on their belly, a rust-coloured breast, a white throat, and a cream to blue-grey coloured cere. The Pacific baza can be distinguished from the long-tailed honey buzzard (Henicopernis longicauda), which is similar in appearance to this species, by having less-rounded wings and a breast that is barred rather than streaked. == Behaviour ==

The omnivorous diet of the Pacific baza consists of fruits, insects, tree-frogs, lizards, snakes, and birds. In fact, in 1981, several captive specimens of the Pacific baza would not breed without having lettuce as a part of their diet. and are white-coloured with occasional spots. A family studied in 2002 and 2003 had a pre-laying stage period of 16 days, incubation period of 29 days, and nesting period of 35 days. The juveniles became independent from their parents at least 22 days after hatching. The species has a generation length of 7.6 years. == Distribution ==

The Pacific baza ranges across warmer and more humid parts of the Australasian realm, breeding in Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands and South Africa and resident in East Timor. In Australia, it is only found in areas where the coast is no further than away, primarily in northern and eastern parts of the country. Its total extent of occurrence is estimated to be . Its habitats are subtropical and tropical forests, dry savannas, and bodies of freshwater, including wetlands, streams, and rivers, usually at elevations less than and rarely greater than . It is utilised in the pet trade internationally. Because of its large range and stable population, it is listed as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List as of 2016. == References ==