High or low, I fly slow...

Black Eagle

Ictinaetus malayensis

 

We saw so many birds in this trip. Minivets, bulbuls, babblers, shrikes, owls, orioles, swallows, parrots, eagles, treepies.....

 

But unfortunately I could not photograph most of them. Either they were too fast or I was too slow or there was not enough light.

 

This one was an exception. Nila spotted it and signalled me. I took two shots before it took off. In fact I had the third shot which showed the empty perch.

 

Black eagle is pretty majestic bird and is a skillful flier as all raptors are. But the special feature of this bird is its ability to fly slow! It mainly raids birds' nest for eggs and young birds. So it needs to manoeuver skillfully through the trees and its slow speed helps. However it is also said to pick up small mammals and such from the ground.

 

Its wings are fairly large for its size with strong primary feathers which is said to aid gentle flight.

Done