Aviceda leuphotes
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The black baza (Aviceda leuphotes) is a small bird of prey found in the forests of Northeast India, the eastern Himalayas, China and Southeast Asia. Many populations are migratory, including those in the Indian region, which winter in the south of the Peninsula and Sri Lanka. Black bazas have short, stout legs and feet with strong talons, and a prominent crest. They are found in dense forest, often in small groups, and can often be found perched on bare branches of tall trees rising above the forest canopy.
The bird was first described based on a specimen from Pondicherry under the name of Falco leuphotes. Several geographic races have been described including wolfei which is based on a single specimen from Sichuan and may belong to the nominate subspecies. The named forms include the following, but they have been questioned and further study has been called for.
It is said to breed in Burma and... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 3 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 4 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 6 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 7 | Khao Sok National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 8 | Khao Luang National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 9 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black Baza sighting in Periyar National Park on a given day, based on 162 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 131st most-seen of the 227 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November to February
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black Baza in Periyar National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March to October, the lowest months. Those are among Periyar National Park's driest months, with about 80 mm of rain a month against 410 mm in August.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black Baza sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 10 parks where we can rate Black Baza sightings, Periyar National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Kaeng Krachan National Park (Thailand, under 5%) and Doi Inthanon National Park (Thailand, under 5%).
Same family: Accipitridae
The closest relatives of the Black Baza that you can see in Periyar National Park (family Accipitridae, Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) are Crested Serpent Eagle (about 30%), Black Eagle (about 20%) and Oriental Honey-buzzard (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black Baza is recorded against all the birds logged in Periyar National Park (162 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
