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Juv. Crested Hawk Eagle, Wilpatu, Sri Lanka 27 Nov (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Andy Hurley
- Start date
Thanks Mark:t:
Earnest lad
Well-known member
Whether its a juvenile or an adult I am not sure
Grahame Walbridge
Well-known member
My uncertainty and thus my op was due to it being my first Crested Hawk-eagle. (Some authorities split this from changeable.) Not that I'm claiming an armchair tick though, as I haven't seen the necessary ssps of Changeable. I have the Helm Guide to Birds of Sri Lanka, and difficulty of separating juvenile Crested and juvenile Legge's Hawk-eagle made my decision only possible on range. The much smaller Jerdon's Baza was also excluded on range only. Without seeing the front of the bird, it became more difficult to decide what it was. Thanks again Mark and Grahame for the confirmation.
Earnest lad
Well-known member
Thank you Grahame
I'm not quite sure what juvenile Legge's looks like, as there are a number of photos and even one YouTube video on the net which are actually juvenile Crested (the pale area on the coverts mentioned by Grahame is the giveaway). I suspect it's a darker and more heavily-marked bird, if this immature is anything to go by:
http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?Bird_ID=890&Bird_Image_ID=23106
It's confined to upland forested areas in Sri Lanka.
Jerdon's Baza is a smaller, more compact bird, the juvenile with gingery tones on head and neck, a shorter crest and large orange eye. It's found in similar habitat to Legge's.
http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?Bird_ID=890&Bird_Image_ID=23106
It's confined to upland forested areas in Sri Lanka.
Jerdon's Baza is a smaller, more compact bird, the juvenile with gingery tones on head and neck, a shorter crest and large orange eye. It's found in similar habitat to Legge's.
Earnest lad
Well-known member
Yes.
Grahame Walbridge
Well-known member
Andy, juvenile Legge's is much warmer, more rufescent below as can be seen in Fig3a in this excellent article which is described in more detail last para p57 main text https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255616565_An_overlooked_threatened_species_of_eagle_Legge's_Hawk_Eagle_Nisaetus_kelaarti_Aves_Accipitriformes Note also that, compared to CHE, there are clear differences in structure which are even more apparent in Legge's than MHE, which include more massive bill, claws and longer tail, the latter enhancing short-winged appearance at rest TABLE 1. Also note the tarsi feathering extends onto the toes but less so than MHE.
Grahame
Earnest lad
Well-known member
Thank you again.
Thanks Andy and Grahame for the links and your insight. This is the reason that Birdforum is my first choice for birding questions.
