Pacific Baza

Description:

The Pacific Baza is a medium-sized, long-tailed hawk with a prominent crest and boldly barred abdomen. My first encounter with this species, and it just happened to be a pair of birds (although I only managed to get one photo of a single bird). At first I thought they were Channel-billed Cuckoos (which I have never seen in this area), or perhaps even Collared Sparrowhawks (which I've only seen once), but it turned out not to be neither species.

Habitat:

Spotted in the canopy of a Royal Poinciana, in our local park in suburban Brisbane. This species is usually found in tropical and subtropical woodlands and forest, and sometimes grasslands, farmlands, and urban areas.

Notes:

Rotten photo - sorry. Poor light, fast birds, slow camera, and inadequate human who couldn't find his glasses. Better luck next time.