Andaman Serpent-Eagle Spilornis elgini Scientific name definitions

51–59 cm; 790–1000 g; wingspan 115–135 cm (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Medium-sized dark serpent-eagle with short crest. Overall, very dark brown with numerous small white spots that are larger and denser on underparts than on upperparts. In contrast to S. cheela, tail with multiple pale bands. Adults have yellow irides, cere, lores and feet. Juvenile is similarly dark overall, but with grey-brown irides and paler head, cere and feet.

Andaman Is.

Forest interior , typically in clearings; also on open hillsides with scattered trees at elevations from sea-level to 700 m (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Traditionally said to be ecologically segregated from sympatric S. cheela davisoni, which has been claimed to stick mainly to coastal forest, especially tidal creeks and mangrove swamps, whereas present species normally occurs inland; the two do, however, occur and even display near each other in inland areas, although present species is more numerous there.

Presumably sedentary.

Little information. Apparently takes variety of prey, especially birds; also frogs, lizards, rats and snakes. Hunts from perch in typical style of genus.

Vocalizations consist of sharp, clear whistles  , differing markedly from calls of S. cheela.

VULNERABLE. CITES II. Restricted-range species: present in Andaman Islands EBA. Very small range not severely fragmented; believed to be quite common, evidently the commonest raptor in Andamans, but population may be very small, and subpopulation structure (if any) and population trends are unknown.  A total of 62 individuals were recorded on 25 of 45 islands surveyed in 1993–1994 (2 Davidar, P., Yoganand, T.R.K., Ganesh, T. and Joshi, N. (1997). An assessment of common and rare forest bird species of the Andaman Islands. Forktail. 12: 99–105. Close ); since these islands have a total area 3700 km², density consequently calculated to be not more than 1 or 2 individuals per km² BirdLife International (2018) Species factsheet: Spilornis elgini. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 09/01/2018. . On the basis of these figures, global population estimated at 1000–4000 mature individuals BirdLife International (2018) Species factsheet: Spilornis elgini. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 09/01/2018. . Numbers suspected to be declining at slow to moderate rate, primarily because of habitat degradation and hunting. Although forest habitat in Andamans is still extensive, loss and fragmentation of suitable cover are continuing and possibly accelerating. Because the human population on larger islands is growing at a rapid rate, habitat is under increasing pressure from agriculture, grazing and logging. Hunting common on the islands (3 Pande, S., Sant, N. Ranade, S., Pednekar, S., Mestry, P., Deshpande, P., Kharat, S. and Deshmukh, V. (2007). Avifaunal survey of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, January 2007. Indian Birds. 3(5): 162–180. Close ) and may have measurable negative effect on this species. Surveys are required to assess size of this raptor’s population, as are regular monitoring efforts at selected sites across its range; abundance in forests with different levels of disturbance also should be investigated. The influence of hunting on populations needs to be assessed, and awareness campaigns should be conducted, involving local residents, to engender pride in the species and to prevent hunting. Equally important, significant areas of intact interior forest in the Andamans must be afforded full protection for this and other endemic species.