The rufous-bellied eagle or rufous-bellied hawk-eagle (''Lophotriorchis kienerii'') is a

bird of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Accipitridae The Accipitridae () is one of the four families within the order Accipitriformes, and is a family of small to large birds of prey with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects ...

that is found in the forested regions of tropical Asia. Relatively small for eagles and contrastingly patterned like a falcon, this species was earlier placed in the genus ''

Hieraaetus The genus ''Hieraaetus'', sometimes known as small eagles or hawk-eagles, denotes a group of smallish eagles usually placed in the accipitrid subfamilies Buteoninae or Aquilinae. They are generally medium-sized birds of prey inhabiting Europ ...

'' and sometimes also in the genus '' Aquila'' but thought to be distinctive enough to belong to a separate genus.

Taxonomy and systematics

This eagle was originally described as ''Astur kienerii'' on the basis of a specimen from the Himalayas. It was later moved to ''Limnaetus'' by Jerdon, the genus ''Lophotriorchis'' and still later to ''Hieraaetus'', the so-called "hawk-eagles". A study of the phylogeny of some ''Hieraaetus'' species and other eagles indicated that they were nested within the ''Aquila'' clade of eagles, resulting in their repositioning. Another molecular study of the eagles suggested that ''kienerii'' was distinctive enough to be retained in a separate genus for which the name ''Kienastur'' had been suggested but as this occurred in a thesis it is invalid for

taxonomic 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme of classes (a taxonomy) and the allocation ...

purposes, and in any case ''Lophotriorchis'' was proposed much earlier (though originally shared with the Black-and-chestnut eagle which is nowadays placed in ''Spizaetus''). Within its wide range, two subspecies are recognized although there is no marked plumage difference. The nominate ''kienerii'' of India and Sri Lanka (the northern birds are larger); and ''formosus'' described by

Erwin Stresemann Erwin Friedrich Theodor Stresemann (22 November 1889, in Dresden – 20 November 1972, in East Berlin) was a German naturalist and ornithologist. Stresemann was an ornithologist of extensive breadth who compiled one of the first and most comprehe ...

in 1924 which is widely distributed across Southeast Asia from Burma to Sulawesi. The species name was given by Count Louis Ernest Gustave de Sparre (1802-1866) and honours the French naturalist

Louis Charles Kiener Louis Charles Kiener (31 July 1799 – 24 July 1881) was a French malacologist born in Paris. He was the author of the 12-volume ''Spécies général et iconographie des coquilles vivantes comprenant la collection du Muséum d'histoire naturelle ...

(1799-1881).

Description

Adult rufous-bellied eagles are distinctive in their pattern. They have a black hood with a short crest. Chestnut underparts and wing coverts contrast with the white on the throat and breast. The sexes are almost indistinguishable in plumage but females are slightly larger and have more black on the face. They perch in a very upright stance and the wingtip almost reaches the tail. The tarsus is fully feathered. Juveniles have very white underparts with dark markings on the sides of the body, head mask and edge of underwing coverts. They can appear similar to a booted eagle ('' Aquila pennata''). In flight, the underwing lining is dark and the greater coverts are black. The flight feathers are thinly barred with a black edge. The tail is dark and barred.

Distribution and habitat

The rufous-bellied eagle is found in southern and south-eastern Asia and its range also extends to

Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...

. This species is associated mainly with hill forests. In India, they are commoner in the Western Ghats than along the Himalayas where they occur from Nepal to

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

. They also occur in parts of the

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats is a mountain range that stretches along the East Coast of India, eastern coast of the Indian peninsula. Covering an area of , it traverses the states and union territories of India, states of Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Prade ...

Behaviour and ecology

Rufous-bellied eagles are usually seen in flight, soaring high over the forest canopy. They dive to capture prey that can include birds and mammals in the air, canopy, or forest floor. Birds the size of the Sri Lanka wood pigeon,

Kalij pheasant The kalij pheasant (''Lophura leucomelanos''), or simply kalij, is a pheasant found in forests and thickets, especially in the Himalayan foothills, from Nepal, Pakistan to western Thailand. Males are rather variable depending on the subspecies ...

and

junglefowl Junglefowl are the only four living species of bird from the genus ''Gallus'' in the bird order Galliformes, and occur in parts of South and Southeast Asia. One of the species in this genus, the red junglefowl, is of historical importance as the ...

have been recorded as prey. The breeding season of the eagles is in winter with the young fledging in spring when the prey species are also breeding. The display flight involves stooping and wing-quivering. Their calls include a series of high pitched ''fwick, fwick...'' notes followed by a thin ''sweek!''. They nest on a large, often bare tree, building a large platform of dry sticks and branches that they break off. The nest is lined with green leaves and a single egg is laid. Both parents take turns in incubation, feeding and nest defence.

References

External links

* * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q280663 rufous-bellied eagle Birds of Bhutan Birds of Nepal Birds of Northeast India Birds of South India Birds of Sri Lanka Birds of Southeast Asia rufous-bellied eagle Eagles