This morning, the alert calls of Noisy Miners alerted me to the presence of a predator. I looked up and spotted this beautiful Pacific Baza:

In the above photo, the bird grasps a stick insect in its claw. Pacific Bazas eat large insects such as stick insects (their favourite), praying mantises, and grasshoppers. Sometimes they’ll take a tree-frog or even some fruit.

If you see more than one of these birds, are they Pacific Baza or Pacific Bazas? I don’t know what the official plural is. I’m going with “Bazas” but my spelling checker keeps correcting it to “Baza”!

Another name for this bird is the Crested Hawk, due to the rather odd-looking crest on the top of its head.

Here’s another shot of the bird, this time annoyed by the shrieking Noisy Miners swooping it from above (not visible in the photo):

Common name: Pacific Baza
Scientific name: Aviceda subcristata
Length: 35-45 cm
Wing span: 1 metre
Date spotted: 2 June 2026 (winter)
Location: Manly Dam Park, near Sydney, Australia: 33°46’37.2″S 151°14’51.3″E