If one were to randomly ask anybody to name a bird of prey, chances are that the answer would be eagle. With its piercing eyes, sharp talons and great speed, the eagle is familiar to almost everybody. Even in popular culture and religion, it is a revered figure. While there are as many different types of eagles as days in a year, these raptors are broadly divided into four groups — fish eagles, booted eagles, harpy eagles and snake eagles. This time, we shall focus on a member of the last group — the crested serpent eagle.
As a school-going lad, I used to come across many raptors, especially when out having lunch in the open grounds or fields. It was only after I became a keen birdwatcher that I was able to distinguish between the different raptors and observe them in their various habitats. One such bird of prey that I started to notice was the crested serpent eagle, found the outskirts. Its persistent piercing call made it easy to identify, while another pointer was the distinct white and black bars on the underside of its wings. Many a time I would come across this eagle flying high in the sky and circling over fields.
Then again I would see it crossing the river banks to perch on old trees like the silk cotton or the peepal. During spring, the raptor would blend itself in the leaves of the trees. Once I got to see the bird in all its glory at close quarters — a fan-shaped crest, yellow legs and eyes, a curved beak and talons. But it is a shy bird and on being spotted quickly flies away.
The cool, shady areas of an areca nut farm was another spot where one got to see this eagle. Sometimes the snake eagle will suddenly scoop down diagonally with wings folded only to vanish into the areca farm canopy. Once I saw a pair.
Forests are another good place to sight it. During a visit to the Nagarahole forest in Karnataka during monsoon, one of the first birds of prey that we spotted was the crested serpent eagle perched next to the aromatic foxtail orchid growing on the branch of a tree. They are quite common in south Indian forests. The crested serpent eagle feeds on frogs, lizards, monitor lizards and snakes — its diet includes water snakes like the checkered keel back and the rat snake. The eagle strikes the prey many times with its feet and then grabs its victim in its powerful talons and kills it with its beak. They kill both small and big snakes. They start with eating the head of the prey and then the tail.
Once at the peak of summer, a friend and I headed to the Cauvery river banks with the hope of seeing some water birds. When we reached the place, we sought shelter in the shade of the trees growing alongside the river, watching medium-sized fish swimming in the river.
A few minutes later, our raptor friend, a crested serpent eagle, came down from the dense tree foliage and swooped down on something (probably a fish/crab/snake) near the aquatic weed. It hopped a couple of times with wings spread open and the victim in its talons. Very soon it silenced the victim and began to pull at its flesh. Everything was done by the eagle with great precision. It carried its prey to one of the trees where it came from, from where we could hear baby raptors demanding food.