Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela)

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Photo by SukanyaDatta

Published on Project Noah

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Field Notes

Description:

Large bird of prey. Area near eyes and beak is distinctly yellow. Crown is dark.

Habitat:

Roadside. Area is in the Nilgiri hill region and we were driving to Munnar when we spotted this on a tall tree a little obscured by an electric line. Luckily there were no cards behind us and we backed up the road a bit. It was misty and rainy and it was sheer luck to have spotted this large bird of prey sitting so patiently.

Notes:

It gets its name because it eats reptiles or so says Wikipedia.

Reference Links:

Crested serpent eagle - Wikipedia

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