The crested serpent-eagle is a medium-sized raptor found in tropical Asia. This beautiful dark-brown bird has broad wings with a distinctive white band and a yellow face, eyes and legs. It has a speckled body with black-tipped wings. It raises the feathers at the back of its head when it feels threatened, which gives it a crested appearance.
It is found in tropical forests, woodlands, wet grasslands, tea plantations and mangroves. It preys on snakes and lizards and occasionally eats fish and small mammals. It is found in many regions in India and is non-migratory, restricting itself to its habitat range.
As its name suggests, it is primarily a snake-hunter and particularly prefers tree snakes. In order to catch its prey, it will wait patiently perched up on a tree until it spots a suitable prey. Unlike other eagles, the crested serpent-eagle is quite noisy! It often calls while it is perched or flying in the air with a distinctive ‘kluee-wip-wip’ call.
Males and females have similar plumage and cannot be distinguished from each other. The breeding season of these birds starts in late winter. Its nest is a large platform made of sticks and lined with leaves. Both males and females take part in nest building and take part in partening the chick. The female eagle incubates the egg. The average incubation period is 35 days and the chicks are born featherless and blind. Both the parent eagles take part in raising the chick once it hatches. The Andaman serpent eagle, Ryukyu serpent eagle, Natuna serpent eagle and South Nicobar serpent eagle are some sub-species found in Southeast Asia.
Picture Credit : Google
