Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Crested Hawk-Eagle


 Crested Hawk-Eagle 
(Nisaetus cirrhatus)


    This bird picture was shot at dusk from a very long distance, deep inside the Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Karnataka, India in the month of April 2019. Picture is 100 per cent cropped and processed to remove noise. This  changeable hawk eagle is a juvenile. There are two major types, namely those that are crested and those that are not. This species is a crested hawk eagle in juvenile plumage. It is said that the plumage colour vary within races of this species. This species is largely residential but stragglers have been recorded. They are generally forest-dwelling widely distributed in India and found continuously from the southern tip of  Peninsular India to Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha in the north. They have been reported to be present in Andaman Islands too. They feed upon other birds, reptiles and mammals. Perch-hunting, which is flying at low levels from perch to perch in search of prey, particularly birds, is very common among this species. The breeding season of this bird in Southern India is between November to May. In the temperate regions of Himalayan foot hills,  the breeding time is from January to April. This species is highly adaptable but requires tall trees, appropriate habitat composition and abundance of prey for survival. Complete deforestation may threaten the existence of this bird in that habitat.


Conservation status: Least concern

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

அரிய தகவல்கள். நன்று.