Jerdon's baza

   ›      ›   Jerdon's baza - Aviceda jerdoni.

The Jerdon's baza (Aviceda jerdoni) belongs to the family Accipitridae. The Jerdon's baza species is distributed in India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Malaysia, Southern China, Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines.

Taxonomy of Jerdon's baza

  • Scientific Name: Aviceda jerdoni
  • Common Name: Jerdon's baza
  • French: Baza de Jerdon; German: Hinduweih; Spanish: Baza oriental;
  • Other names: Pernis Jerdoni Blyth, 1842;
  • Family: Accipitridae › Accipitriformes › Aves › Chordata › Animalia
  • Species author: (Blyth, 1842)
Aviceda jerdoni was earlier included in the genus Pernis. The five recognized subspecies are: A. j. ceylonensis (Legge, 1876), A. j. jerdoni (Blyth, 1842), A. j. borneensis (Brüggemann, 1876), A. j. magnirostris (Kaup, 1847) and A. j. celebensis (Schlegel, 1873).

Indian birds -Image of Jerdon's baza - Aviceda jerdoni
Indian birds - Jerdon's baza - Aviceda jerdoni

Description

The Jerdon's baza is a medium sized brown hawk, measuring 40 to 50 cm in length and weighing 350 grams. The wingspan is 120 cm. It has a thin white tipped black crest usually held erect. These baza birds have very broad and rounded paddle-shaped wings. The underparts are plain and pale. The chin is white.

Habitat

These birds inhabit foothills in the terai and margins of evergreen forests and tea estates.

Feeding habits

The Jerdon's baza feed on large insects, lizards and small rodents.

Breeding

The baza bird breeds throughout the year, except for summer months.

Distribution

These baza subspecies A. j. ceylonensis is distributed in South India and Sri Lanka. The subspecies A. j. jerdoni is distributed in Sikkim, West Bengal and Assam States of India, Myanmar and Sumatra Island of Indonesia. The subspecies A. j. borneensis is distributed in Borneo Island. The subspecies A. j. magnirostris occurs in Philippines. The subspecies A. j. celebensis occurs in Sulawesi Island, Togian Island, Banggai Island and Sula Island of Indonesia.

Movement Patterns

These bird species is sedentary and recorded throughout the year in the habitat.

Status and conservation

The Jerdon's baza population is estimated to number between 1,000 to 10,000 individual birds. These species have very wide range and are considered least vulnerable. The population is suspected to be in decline. The habitat destruction is the threat to conservation of these species.

The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has categorized and evaluated these baza birds and has listed them as of "Least Concern".

Biological classification of Aviceda jerdoni
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Accipitriformes
Family:Accipitridae
Subfamily:-
Genus:Aviceda
Species:A. jerdoni
Binomial name:Aviceda jerdoni
Distribution:Asia, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, South China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines;
Feeding habits:large insects, reptiles and small mammals;
IUCN status listing:
Least Concern

Popular posts in Birds of India

Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jerdon%27s_Baza.jpg
Image Author: Gihan Jayaweera/Dmitry Arun | Image License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Current topic in Birds of India: Jerdon's baza - Aviceda jerdoni.