Saturday, November 27, 2021

Crested Serpent Eagle

The first bird I shot from my first time stay at my uncle's woodhouse in Thandikudi, near Kodaikanal, was the Crested serpent eagle. The bird of prey came very close, perching a tree in the backyard of the woodhouse, and I shot the bird from the balcony that overlooks the coffee plantation and wild vegetation. 

I already stayed at Thandikudi twice then and have seen the serpent eagle in one of my trips, but that was the first time I encountered at the close, and the bird was looking for prey - perhaps a little bird that was flying around. The bird flew later with a great swish-swash of its widespread wings. 

My uncle constructed the woodhouse and cottage in late 2015 in the coffee estate he bought lately then, and we have been visiting the property (Smokey Havensince 2016 until pandemic blocked any course of travel. Glad I hold many photos from the trips to the property to unfold any time to travel back in memories and thus a moment shared with an eagle.

The Crested serpent eagle is a medium-sized bird of prey found in forested habitats across tropical Asia. Like its broad wings (with which it flies over the forest canopy), the bird's range is widespread across Asia, with variations within itself; some treat several of its subspecies as separate species. The bird with long feathers on the back of the head (apart from having a look of a large head) give them a maned and crested appearance, and hence feeding on snakes often, gave them their name and are placed along with the snake eagles in the subfamily Circaetinae. (source wiki)

9 comments:

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

What a majestic bird and how nice to get such good photos of them. I love seeing the birds you see that are so different from what I see here in Florida. Happy weekend.

eileeninmd said...

Hello Jeevan,
I have never heard of the Serpent Eagle, it is a beautiful bird. Awesome series of photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a happy weekend! PS, thank you for leaving me a comment!

Breathtaking said...

Hello Jeevan,:=) An interesting looking Eagle, that I have never heard of before. Superb captures of this snake eating species.
Have a nice weekend.:=)

Tom said...

...it looks like a small, but mighty hunter!

Rose said...

Oh wow, a bird I need to look up. I would be so excited to see one. I just find all birds of prey interesting.

Bill said...

What a beautiful bird and photos. Well done, Jeevan.

Kirtivasan Ganesan said...

Didn't know of crested serpent eagle. Only eagle was known.
Knowledge improved with this blog post.
I remember seeing eagles in my school days in Delhi. They were interested in our lunch boxes.
My good wishes Jeevan.

George said...

You got some wonderful pictures of this eagle. I hope you will soon be able to again travel to the woodhouse and cottage.

Nancy Chan said...

Wonderful to be able to see this bird up close. Good to refresh old memories of your holiday at your uncles' place.