Black eagle

The black eagle (Ictinaetus malaiensis) is a bird of prey. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae, and is the only member of the genus Ictinaetus. They soar over forests in the hilly regions of tropical and subtropical South and Southeast Asia, as well as southeastern China. They hunt mammals and birds, particularly at their nests. They are easily identified by their widely splayed and long primary "fingers", the characteristic silhouette, slow flight and yellow ceres and legs that contrast with their dark feathers.

The black eagle is a large but slender eagle, at about 75 cm (30 in) in length and 148 to 182 cm (4 ft 10 in to 6 ft 0 in) in wingspan. Despite its large appearance (it is one of the largest eagles in its range), known weights are relatively modest, at between 1,000 and 1,600 g (2.2 and 3.5 lb), about half the weight of the partially sympatric mountain hawk-eagle, the latter being of a similar total length. Adults have all-black plumage, with a yellow bill base (cere) and feet. The wings are long and pinched in at the innermost primaries giving a distinctive shape. The tail shows faint barring and upper tail covers are paler. When perched the wing tips reach till or exceed the tail tip. The wings are held in a shallow V (wings just above the horizontal plane) in flight. Seen on hot afternoons, scouring the treetops for a nest to maraud, this bird is easily spotted by its jet black colour, large size, and a characteristic slow flight, sometimes just above the canopy.

Sexes are similar, but young birds have a buff head, underparts and underwing coverts. The wing shape helps to distinguish this species from the dark form of changeable hawk-eagle, (Nisaetus cirrhatus). The tarsi are fully feathered and the toes are relatively stout and short with long claws (particularly on the inner toe) that are less strongly curved than in other birds of prey.

The black eagle breeds in tropical and subtropical Asia. Race perniger (Hodgson, 1836) is found in the Himalayan foothills west through Nepal into the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, and in the forests of the Eastern and Western Ghats in peninsular India and Sri Lanka. The bird's westernmost extent is from Gujarat, especially in the forested areas in southern and eastern Gujarat. The species also extends into the Aravalli range of northwestern India. The nominate race malaiensis (Temminck, 1822) is found in Burma, southern China (Yunnan, Fujian) and Taiwan, into Southeast Asia. They are generally residents and no migrations have been observed. In a study in southern India, it was found to favour forests with good forest cover and was absent from areas where the cover was less than 50%. [Source: Wikipedia].

Name: Black eagle 
Scientific: Ictinaetus malaiensis
Malay: Lang Hitam 
Family: Accipitridae
IUCN Red List (v3.1, 2016): Least Concern
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Location: Fraser's Hill, Pahang

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