Rufous-bellied Eagle Lophotriorchis kienerii Scientific name definitions

46–61 cm (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); male 733 g, female 800 g (2 Gamauf, A., Preleuthner, M. and Winkler, H. (1998). Philippine birds of prey: interrelations among habitat, morphology, and behavior. Auk. 115(3): 713–726. Close ); wingspan 105–140 cm (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Small, aerial eagle with short bushy crest, longish wings and tail and feathered tarsi. Bright rufous underparts and underwing-coverts with dark streaking; throat and upper breast white ; upperparts jet black; irides dark brown to reddish brown; cere and feet yellow (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Wing shape and underwing pattern in flight similar to those found in buzzards. Juvenile strikingly different, with completely white underparts and underwing. Race <em>formosus</em> has more uniformly black upperparts and is smaller (wing 324–340 mm in male, 360–382 mm in female) Than nominate race (wing 380–394 mm in male, 395–433 mm in female) (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

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Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Evergreen and moist deciduous forest; mainly in foothills AT 300–1200 m elevation, but has been found from sea-level to 2000 m (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), exceptionally to 2750 m in Arunachal Pradesh, India (3 Choudhury, A. (2003). Birds of Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary and Sessa Orchid Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Forktail 19:1–13. Close ). Some evidence for regular use of secondary forest and plantations on Sumatra (4 Iqbal, M., Mulyawati, D., Fujita, M.S., Hua, F. and Zetra, B. (2011). A breeding record of the Rufous-bellied Eagle Lophotriorchis (Hieraaetus) kienerii in Sumatra. Kukila. 15: 75-79. Close ).

Mainly sedentary, but migrants reported on Malay Peninsula and Bali (5 Ash, J.S. (1993). Raptor migration on Bali, Indonesia. Forktail. 9: 3–11. Close , 1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Status on Bali uncertain, possibly only uncommon migrant or vagrant; recently seen on Flores; also recorded on Ternate in N Moluccas.

Feeds on birds and mammals, e.g. squirrels; some rather large birds taken, including Kalij Pheasants (Lophura leucomelanos), junglefowl (Gallus), spurfowl (Galloperdix) and pigeons (Columba, Treron) (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Very aerial hunter; captures prey on or near ground or treetops after spectacular stoops, reminiscent of Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus). Also still-hunts from perch (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Generally silent, except during the breeding season when gives a repeated piercing “keeee” during display flight and contact between pair-members, sometimes extended into a piping “kee-kee-kee-kipkip-trree”  .

Little information. Nests from Dec–Mar in Sri Lanka and S India; Feb in Philippines; somewhat later in N India. Large nest (up to 1.2 m across, 60 cm deep (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) ) built by pair in crown of large tree in dense forest, lined with green leaves. On Sumatra, recently fledged young attended near nest by adult in late Jul, suggesting that laying occurred in late Mar or early Apr; nest c. 25 m above ground in large tree surrounded by secondary lowland forest that had been selectively logged (4 Iqbal, M., Mulyawati, D., Fujita, M.S., Hua, F. and Zetra, B. (2011). A breeding record of the Rufous-bellied Eagle Lophotriorchis (Hieraaetus) kienerii in Sumatra. Kukila. 15: 75-79. Close ). Display flight involves repeated dives with wings closed, and also shivering of wings. Clutch one egg; incubation by both sexes. Pair vigorous in defence of nest against humans. No further information available.

Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near Threatened. CITES II. Widespread, but status variable; global population estimate by BirdLife International 1000–10,000 individuals. Rare on Java and in Myanmar; scarce in Nepal and just three documented records in Bangladesh (6 Thompson, P. M., S. U. Chowdhury, E. Ul Haque, M. M. H. Khan, and R. Halder (2014). Notable bird records from Bangladesh from July 2002 to July 2013. Forktail 30:50–65. Close ); uncommon in Philippines; moderately common on Sulawesi. During recent raptor survey on Java only rarely recorded, invariably in forest fragments. Recently found to be common in forested areas of NE India and SW India (W Ghats). Has undoubtedly suffered as result of extensive deforestation that still continues throughout most of range.