Black Baza

The black baza is a small, distinctively coloured raptor, 30–35 cm long with a wingspan of 66–80 cm and a weight of 168–224 g, with short, stout legs, strong talons and a prominent crest. Perched, the upright crest and contrasting pattern make it hard to misidentify. The male has white scapulars and secondary coverts, and white on the secondaries; the female has white only on the scapulars and more chestnut bands on the underside (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is found in the forests of north-east India, the eastern Himalaya, China and Southeast Asia, and many populations are migratory, including those in the Indian region, which winter in the south of the Peninsula and Sri Lanka. Birds in north-eastern India begin breeding in April, and both sexes build the nest, incubate, brood and feed the young; the eggs hatch in about 26–27 days. It lives in dense forest, often in small groups, perched on bare branches of tall trees, and is somewhat crepuscular. SoIB 2023 rates it a Moderate conservation priority, a within-India migrant with a Restricted range of about 39,000 km² (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).