Philippine Serpent Eagle

Philippine serpent eagle
Photo from wikipedia - markaharper1

Philippine Serpent Eagles are relatively small raptors with length of 1.7 feet and wingspan of 4 feet that found in the major islands of the Philippines except for Palawan. Physical appearance are brown from above and have a short bushy crest, black crown, and gray to gray-brown cheeks and throat. The underparts are rufous with white spots that merge into barring along the crissum. The tail is black with a white tip, light brown central band, and a secondary basal band. The primary feathers are also black and there is white spotting along the wing coverts. The eyes, legs, and lores are yellow.

Juveniles are brown from above with rufous to buff edges and they have a white crown. The mantle is streaked and spotted with brown and there are two dark patches behind the eyes. The feathers along the wing-coverts are white at the base and the tail is dark brown with a light-colored tip and three brown bands. The undertail is gray-white. Underparts are cream to white with heavy rufous markings along the breast and paler rufous streaking along the belly and thighs. Eyes are gray. Their call is a sharp rising and falling whistle.

As their name would suggest, it is endemic to the Philippines, they eat snakes and also lizards.

Scientific name: Spilornis holospilus
Family: Accipitridae

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_serpent_eagle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_serpent_eagle#/media/File:Philippine_Serpent-Eagle.jpg
http://eagleencyclopedia.org/species/philippine_serpent_eagle.html

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