Avian toupee

Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela)

We were making our way back for lunch after a somewhat disappointing walk(the hornbills were in hiding), and lo and behold! A find that made up for the hornbills going AWOL! A Crested Serpent Eagle, named as such because of it's black feathered toupee(okay so it's not quite a toupee but it sure looks like one) and it's diet which consists of a helluva lot of snake(as well as plenty of lizards).


Interestingly, it's black toupee(or as the scientists call it- crest) stands on end when it gets agitated. Unfortunately this one was all calm, and stalking him(or her) while enthusiastically clicking away at our cameras didn't seem to ruffle its feathers.

Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela)

When you first look at the bird, all you think is woah! Big bird! But it's actually considered to be a  "medium-sized" raptor. It's about 1/2 m to 3/4 m tall. Heck, there are hornbills bigger than that! Nevertheless, it is a beautiful bird and a very pleasing find! Not considered to be endangered because of it's large range, but sadly it is on the verge of extinction in Singapore. It can be found from South Asia, and throughout much of Southeast Asia and parts of China even. Its species name comes from its Hindi name- Dogra cheel.

It was rather curious that a raptor should choose to perch on relatively low branches by the road, but apparently, some have observed this predator taking the easy way out and waiting for various vehicles to come along and squash some snake. Car-cum-meat-tenderizer? Also, as already mentioned previously, it didn't seem to be too bothered by us. We'd like to think it's because we were giving off peaceful, loving vibes.

Snubbed by a Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela) 

What looked like a strange bald patch on his/her head(as seen in the photo above) is actually likely to just be it's baby feathers. Juveniles/younger birds tend to have more white bits on their heads apparently. So perhaps these white bits are vestiges of its younger days? The photo taken below in Indonesia provides a better view of those little white bits of feathers that occur on the head of this magnificent eagle.

All caged up at Bandung Zoo, Indonesia

Chickening around 
[Adapted from this website on 11 August 2010]

A little strange to be seeing an animal as beautiful and majestic as this eagle is, walking around like a lowly chicken. Or maybe it's just that elitist mentality creeping into our Singaporean brains...

References

iloveindia.com. (n.d.). Home : Wildlife in India : Indian Birds : Crested Serpent Eagle : Crested Serpent Eagle Facts. Retrieved August 11, 2010, from iloveindia.com: http://www.iloveindia.com

Tsang, K. (2007, June 15). Crested Serpent Eagle: Snakes alive. Retrieved August 11, 2010, from Bird Ecology Study Group: http://besgroup.talfrynature.com/2007/06/15/crested-serpent-eagle-snakes-alive/

Starry starry night...

Taking a stroll pass what Grant has christened- The Citadel, when we noticed too much chirping for our curious selves to resist. And strangely enough... it seemed to be coming up from The Citadel. So climb the millions of steps we did(okay, so maybe this is a bit of an exaggeration, hundreds of steps?), to find small black birds hidden under the roof. At first sight, they looked like small mynas. But wait, they have ... demonic red eyes! AHHHHH! 

Nah, they aren't in anyway demonic, but they are red. Which is a distinctive feature of these beautiful birds. That and their shimmery feathers that look metallic blue-green at times. And the reason they look like mynas- they're pretty much cousins! Sort of... They're all from the same family: The Sturnidae. For those unfamiliar with what a family is in biological terms, all living things are grouped together in certain groups. As one goes close and closer to the species level, organisms in the groupings become more and more closely related. The picture below should give you a pretty good idea about what we're failing at trying to explain.

Image adapted from this website on 25th June 2010

They're against the light, so they look completely black. But if you had been there with us(spiritually or otherwise...) you would have noticed that their "underbelly" was white with black stripes. Caused a little bit of confusion- aren't Asian glossy starlings supposed to be black all over with metallic shiny blue/green bits when under sunlight? Strange aliens sent from outer space pretending to be starlings to spy on us? Mutant birds carrying merciless diseases that will wipe out all of mankind? Questions, questions... and no closer to any answer! AHHHHH!

GOD* SPEAKS: They were juveniles.  

US: Oh...

Juvenile Asian Glossy Starlings(Aplonis panayensis)

Watch the video till the very end for a surprise visitor ;)

Look out world!

Heard the cackling at the end of the video? Maybe the Oriental Pied Hornbills wanted to steal the little starling's thunder :) The video ended when we decided to rush to the tree the hornbills were at- a African Tulip that was nearby. Unfortunately, they flew off as soon as we got there. Darn it! Such a tease! 

References 

BirdLife International (2010) Species factsheet: Aplonis panayensis. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 25/6/2010

Tan, R. (2001). Asian Glossy Starling. Retrieved August 6, 2010, from Mangrove and wetland wildlife at Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve: http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Aplonis_panayensis.htm


Zebutionary
God*: refers to our bird guide book.