Jerdon's Baza
Aviceda jerdoni
Medium-sized raptor with a prominent white-tipped black crest that is usually erect. Shows conspicuous pale reddish barring on a white belly. Smaller size and narrower wing bases in flight separate it from hawk-eagles, and longer wings and completely feathered legs at rest separate it from Crested Goshawk and other accipiters. Sedentary across its range, occurring in wet tropical and subtropical forests across South and Southeast Asia. Difficult to see if not soaring; often tucked away in forest canopy.
Identification
It is about 46 cm long. It is confusable with crested goshawk or the changeable hawk-eagle in flight, but can be distinguished by the longer upright crest, very broad and rounded paddle-shaped wings and mostly plain and pale underparts. It has a white chin and a bold black mesial stripe.<p>Several subspecies are recognized within its large distribution range. These include:
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Aviceda jerdoni
- Authority
- (Blyth, 1842)
- Order
- Accipitriformes
- Family
- Accipitridae
- Genus
- Aviceda
Range and habitat
It is a resident of the terai of North India and foothills of the Eastern Himalayas from Eastern Nepal and Bengal duars to the Assam valley, Western Ghats in Southern India, southern Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Sumatra, Singapore and Philippines
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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