Common Birds of Western Himalayas 



Hodgson's hawk-eagle is also destructive to 

 game. It emits a shrill musical whistle which 

 can sometimes be heard when the bird is so 

 high as to appear a mere speck against the sky. 

 This species has a narrow crest. 



Allied to the true eagles are the serpent- 

 eagles. In these the leg is not feathered to 

 the toe, so they may be said to form a link 

 between the true eagles and the falcons. 



One species — the crested serpent-eagle (Spil- 

 ornis cheeld) — is common in the Himalayas up 

 to 8000 feet. 



This eagle is perhaps the most handsome of 

 the birds of prey. The crest is large and im- 

 posing. The upper parts are dark brown, 

 almost black, with a purple or green gloss. 

 The breast and under parts are rich deep brown 

 profusely dotted with white ocelli. On the tail 

 and wings are white bars. The wing bars are 

 very conspicuous during flight. The crested 

 serpent-eagle flies with the wings held very far 

 back, so that it looks, as " Exile " says, like a 

 large butterfly. When flying it constantly 

 utters its shrill, plaintive call composed of two 

 short sharp cries and three prolonged notes, 

 the latter being in a slightly higher key. 



Of the remaining birds of prey perhaps only 

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