Crested Serpent Eagle

The Crested Serpent Eagle is a widespread forest raptor found from the Indian subcontinent through Southeast Asia and into parts of Indonesia and China. It is named for its diet of snakes and other reptiles and for the shaggy crest of feathers it can raise on the back of its head, and it is most often detected soaring over forest canopy while giving loud screaming calls.

The tail shows one very broad, bold white band crossing an otherwise black tail, a strong identification feature even from a single detached feather. Underwing and body covert feathers are dark brown liberally marked with small white spots, giving a speckled appearance distinct from the more solidly barred pattern of many other raptors. Nape and crown feathers include elongated, rounded crest feathers that the bird can raise into a shaggy halo, unlike the smooth heads of most eagles.

Adults are dark brown above with brown, white-spotted underparts, and a tail that is black with a single wide white band and a narrow white tip. Juveniles are considerably paler, with whitish heads and underparts and less defined tail banding, gradually darkening as they mature. Several subspecies vary somewhat in the extent of spotting and overall tone across its broad range.

This eagle occupies dense tropical and subtropical forest, forest edge, and wooded hill country from India and Sri Lanka through Southeast Asia to parts of China, Taiwan, and Indonesia. It is largely resident throughout its range, defending forest territories year-round.

It specializes in hunting snakes, lizards, and frogs, often taken from a perch at the forest edge or while soaring low over the canopy. Nests are built high in tall forest trees, and the species is highly vocal, giving loud, far-carrying screaming calls in flight that often reveal its presence before it is seen.