AJP reports that while on the island of Lamma last Sunday he heard a noise coming from overhead. A battle was in progress between two Crested Serpent Eagles (Spilornis cheela) and three Black-eared (Black) Kites (Milvus migrans or M. lineatus). Although classed as residents, Crested Serpent Eagles are uncommon in Hong Kong and it was a new tick for him. Although we have seen this species in India and Sri Lanka we have not seen it in Hong Kong.
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| The eagles are considerably bigger than the kites |
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| Crested Serpent Eagle |
Geoffrey Herklots in his book Hong Kong Birds, which mainly records his observations in the 1930s, he indicated the likely fate of many of these birds in earlier years:
A Serpent Eagle was shot in the Lam Tsuen valley in January or February 1940 [Herklots’s records were lost while he was interned during the Japanese Occupation] by a Chinese Farmer. The bird weighed 4 lbs 2½ ounces; it was given to a Chinese friend in Hong Kong who ate it…Both La Touche and Caldwell say that this species has a reputation of preying on domestic poultry and it is probable that this bird was shot by the farmer in defence of his birds.
In the 1960s birds of prey of different sizes were being caught alive in Hong Kong or were being brought over the border from China. They were either for the Chinese medicine or the food market. Enterprising bird dealers brought some to the door of the university’s Zoology Department where they might be bought for release. I photographed this one on the floor of Patricia Marshall’s lab where until it could be released a short time later it was attached by a temporary jess to a lab stool. I wonder if it escaped capture and the live market.
The Crested Serpent Eagle is now protected in Hong Kong.
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