Birds Thru My Eyes : MALAYSIA: Changeable Hawk-eagle

Wednesday 12 November 2014

Changeable Hawk-eagle

Order - Accipitriformes
Family - Accipitridae (Hawks, Eagles)

Changeable Hawk-eagle

Nisaetus cirrhatus

凤头鹰 (fèng-tóu yīng) / 凤头鹰雕 (fèng-tóu yīng-diāo)

Malay : Helang-Hindik Biasa

Japanese : カワリクマタカ (kawari kuma-taka)

Kanji 日語漢字 : 変り熊鷹

Taxonomy update for 2013

Changeable Hawk-eagle (Nisaetus limnaeetus) is split into two species; Crested Hawk-eagle occurs in peninsular India and Sri Lanka, while Changeable occurs throughout the rest of the range including much of Southeast Asia. :

- Changeable Hawk-eagle (Nisaetus limnaeetus)
- Crested Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus)

Taxonomy update for 2019

Crested Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus) and Changeable Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus limnaeetus) are now lumped as Changeable Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus), which brings our taxonomy into alignment with other global authorities such as the IOC and HBW/Birdlife. The two former species are retained as identifiable subspecies groups. :

- Changeable Hawk-eagle (Nisaetus limnaeetus)
- Crested Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus)

Size : 51–82 cm; 1300–1900 g; Wingspan 100–160 cm

Subspecies and Distribution

Nisaetus cirrhatus cirrhatus (J. F. Gmelin, 1788) – Crested Hawk-eagle
– India S of Rajasthan and Gangetic Plain.
Nisaetus cirrhatus ceylanensis (J. F. Gmelin, 1788)
– Sri Lanka.
Nisaetus cirrhatus andamanensis (Tytler, 1865)
– Andaman Is.
Nisaetus cirrhatus limnaeetus (Horsfield, 1821) – Changeable Hawk-eagle
– N India and Nepal E through Bangladesh, Myanmar, Indochina and Malay Peninsula to Greater Sundas and W & SE Philippines (Palawan, Mindoro, Mindanao).
Nisaetus cirrhatus vanheurni (Junge, 1936)
– Simeulue I (off W Sumatra).