The Black Baza (Aviceda leuphotes) is one of the common winter visitor that can be found in open country and wooded areas. Often found in small flocks, they fly from tree to tree, usually staying within the tree crown for no longer than about thre minutes.
Black Baza feeds mostly on insects, especially beetles. I have never been able to see or photograph feeding Black Baza until last Sunday at Singapore’s Bidadari.
Samson Tan LINK managed to get close to this Black Baza in early January to observe it hunting and consuming huge Praying Mantis.
According to Samson, its feeding behaviour is very similar to other smaller birds – biting off the head of their prey before consume the rest of the body LINK.
Samson Tan
Singapore
February 2013