Pacific Baza

The Pacific baza, also known as the crested hawk, crested baza or Pacific cuckoo-falcon, is a slender, medium-sized hawk, mostly grey, brown and white, 35–46 cm long. It is an omnivore and usually does not migrate. The breeding season lasts from September to at least February (Wikipedia, general species account). 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. (Wikipedia, general species account).

Specimens are typically smaller in the extreme western and eastern parts of its range. The omnivorous diet of the Pacific baza comprises 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. It hunts in the canopy of forests and dives down into foliage or air to snatch its prey. (Wikipedia, general species account).