Crested Serpent Eagle

Spilornis cheela (Latham, 1790)

55–75 cmLength153 cmWingspan598 gWeight

This stout, dark brown raptor has a black-and-white crest at the back of its neck, with yellow bare skin on face and feet.

Busiest months: February–March · Most records: India, China, Malaysia

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Black-and-white fan-shaped crest at back of head; neck looks thick
Bare skin on face and feet yellow
Belly has white and yellowish-brown spots
Wings held in a shallow V in flight; tail black with a broad white band

Male, female and young

Juvenile has much white on head.

Voice

Loud, grating calls of two or three syllables, like “Kluee-wip-wip”, with the first note high and rising.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: February–March · Most records: India, China, Malaysia

Crested Serpent Eagle has been recorded at 1,019 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 18 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Taipei – Tianliaoyang WetlandTaiwan (China)3,284 records
Kanha NP – Mukki ZoneIndia2,984 records
Bharatpur – Keoladeo Ghana NPIndia1,836 records

More places

Kenting NP – Sheding Lingxiao Pavilion (Raptors Observation Spot)Taiwan (China)1,241 records
Kanha NP – Kanha ZoneIndia1,080 records
Gunung Panti Recreational Forest – Panti Bird Sanctuary and North AreaMalaysia855 records
TmatboeyCambodia831 records
Tai Po Kau Nature ReserveHong Kong (China)804 records
Taipei – Gongliao Dexin TempleTaiwan (China)804 records
Sepilok – Rainforest Discovery CenterMalaysia790 records

Countries and regions with the most records

India China Malaysia Thailand Sri Lanka Cambodia Nepal Vietnam

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 crested serpent eagle (Spilornis cheela) is a medium-sized bird of prey that is found in forested habitats across tropical Asia. Within its widespread range across the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and East Asia, there are considerable variations and some authorities prefer to treat several of its subspecies as completely separate species. In the past, several species including the Philippine serpent eagle (S. holospila), Andaman serpent eagle (S. elgini) and South Nicobar serpent eagle (S. klossi) were treated as subspecies of the crested serpent eagle.

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