Crested serpent eagle

Description

This medium-large,dark brown eagle is stocky,with rounded wings and a short tail.Its short black and white fan-shaped nuchal crest gives it a thick-necked appearance.The bare facial skin and feet are yellow.The underside is spotted with white and yellowish-brown.When perched the wing tips do not reach until the tail tip.In soaring flight,the broad and paddle-shaped wings are held in a shallow V.The tail and underside of the flight feathers are black with broad white bars.Young birds show a lot of white on the head.The tarsus is unfeathered and covered by hexagonal scales.The upper mandible does not have an overhanging festoon to the tip.