Changeable Hawk-Eagle

Nisaetus cirrhatus (Gmelin, JF, 1788)

≈74 cmLength134 cmWingspan1.5 kgWeight

Its crest varies from long to short and is sometimes barely visible.

Busiest months: February and November–December · Most records: India, Singapore, Sri Lanka

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Adult back usually dark brown
Crest varies in length and may be absent
Adult tail long with fine barring
Adult legs long and feathered

Male, female and young

Female generally larger than male; adult eyes yellow to orange-yellow, juvenile eyes gray-brown to pale green.

Voice

Usually silent; gives high shrieks in the breeding season.

Where and when it's recorded

Changeable Hawk-Eagle has been recorded at 508 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 15 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Kanha NP – Mukki ZoneIndia1,127 records
Yala National ParkSri Lanka895 records
Dairy Farm Nature ParkSingapore879 records

More places

Kranji MarshSingapore821 records
Kalamassery – HMT Estate AreaIndia725 records
Gunung Panti Recreational Forest – Panti Bird Sanctuary and North AreaMalaysia691 records
Corbett NP – DhikalaIndia658 records
Uda Walawe NPSri Lanka600 records
Henderson WavesSingapore590 records
Chidyatapu Biological ParkIndia547 records

Countries and regions with the most records

India Singapore Sri Lanka Malaysia Cambodia Nepal Indonesia Thailand

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The changeable hawk-eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus) or crested hawk-eagle is a large bird of prey species of the family Accipitridae. More informal or antiquated English common names include the marsh hawk-eagle or Indian crested hawk-eagle. It is a member of the subfamily Aquilinae, with signature feathers, absent in tropical raptors from outside this subfamily, covering the tarsus.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Changeable Hawk-Eagle?

The Changeable Hawk-Eagle is about ≈74 cm long, with a wingspan of 134 cm and weighs around 1.5 kg.

Where does the Changeable Hawk-Eagle live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: Himalayas, central, southern India and Sri Lanka to Greater Sundas and Philippines. It is most often recorded in India, Singapore and Sri Lanka.