Indian Black Eagle – Ictinaetus malayensis
Recently I went to a zoo and seem some Indian black Eagle – ictinaetus malayensis, which is house together with changeable hawk eagle. Previously I didn’t know much about this species (even know I don’t know much yet) so I have search for the information about this species from the net. Based on some information their length is about 75CM and they are belong to subfamily buteoninae.
One of the interesting information about them is that they are large but have relatively small beak and their talon is somehow not very curved. Here is the information that I get from hawk conservation site: “Members of the genus Ictinaetus are large, but lightly built eagles with small beaks. They have very long wings and a long tail. The legs are feathered, and the talons long, but only slightly curved. The outer digit is quite short. These characteristics of the feet are probably adaptations for taking nestling birds from tree-top nests. There is a slight crest, formed by the pointed feathers of the crown. The adult is mostly black; the immature more buff.
This genus is probably a specialised booted eagle, but there is some evidence, that it is closely related to the kites, although that would make the feathered tarsi difficult to explain.
The genus contains one species in tropical Asia.â€
Based on the site also, it mention that the entire plumage of the adult is black to dark chocolate brown, paler on secondaries and scapulars.A small amount of white sometimes forms a patch on the upper tail coverts. The tail and wing quills have grey bands on the inner webs,and there is, in flight, a white patch at the carpal joint formed by the white bases of the primary flight feathers. The eyes brown, the cere and feet yellow.
Immatures are dark sepia brown above, the feathers of crown and nape and some on the back are tipped with buff. The upper tail coverts are banded with sepia and buff making a pale bar across the base of the tail. The sides of the head are golden-brown. The rest of the under side as far as the tail coverts is rufous to golden brown, with black streaks on the breast, and with some black bars on the tail coverts. The under-wing coverts are buff. The wing and tail quills are less clearly banded than in the adult. The eyes are brown, the feet and cere yellow.
The primary feathers of this species are very long, reaching beyond the tip of the tail when folded. They are strongly curved and are quite flexible. The feet are also weak, the claws less sharply curved than most eagles.
The mainstay of the diet of the Indian Black Eagle is birds’ eggs and young, taken in the tree-tops. It also takes ground prey, including mammals up to the size of a large rat, and the eggs and young of ground birds. It occasionally takes in flight small to medium-sized birds, bats, and swiftlets.
The talons, much less sharply curved than in most raptors, are an advantage when taking whole birds’ nests, from which the eagle consumes the contents at a later time.
(source: Hawk Conservancy trust)
Other than hawk conservancy trust, wikipedia also provide some good information about indian black eagle. wiki discribe this eagle asa large raptor at about 70-80cm in 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 is also long, and shows faint barring. The wings are held in a shallow V in flight. Seen on hot afternoon, scouring the treetops for a nest, 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 (Spizaetus cirrhatus).