Spilornis cheela
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The crested serpent eagle (Spilornis cheela) is a medium-sized bird of prey that is found in forested habitats across tropical Asia. Within its widespread range across the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and East Asia, there are considerable variations and some authorities prefer to treat several of its subspecies as completely separate species. In the past, several species including the Philippine serpent eagle (S. holospila), Andaman serpent eagle (S. elgini) and South Nicobar serpent eagle (S. klossi) were treated as subspecies of the crested serpent eagle. All members within the species complex have a large-looking head with long feathers on the back, giving them a maned and crested appearance. The face is bare and yellow joining up with the ceres while the powerful feet are unfeathered and heavily scaled. They fly over the forest canopy on broad wings and tail have wide white and black bars. They call often with a loud, piercing and familiar three or two-note call. They often feed on snakes, giving them their name and are placed along with the Circaetus snake-eagles in the subfamily Circaetinae.
This medium-large, dark brown eagle is stocky, with rounded... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kuala Lumpur | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 2 | Thrissur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Taipei | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 4 | Kozhikode | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Kaohsiung | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 6 | Chattogram | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | |
| 7 | Tamluk | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Taichung | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 9 | Ponnani | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Bandung | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vinpearl Safari | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 2 | Taipei Zoo | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 3 | Hainan Tropical Wildlife Park and Botanical Garden | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 4 | Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China | |
| 5 | Chiang Mai Zoo | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 6 | Guangzhou Zoo | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 7 | Fonghuanggu Bird and Ecology Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 8 | Ninoy Aquino Parks & Wildlife Center | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 9 | Gembira Loka Zoo | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 10 | Bandung Zoo | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 11 | Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 12 | Xpark | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 13 | Lembang Park & Zoo | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Crested Serpent Eagle sighting in Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary on a given day, based on 1,717 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 11th most-seen of the 231 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–April, June and November
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Crested Serpent Eagle in Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary on a given day, against about 50% in February and July, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Crested Serpent Eagle sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
2nd of 43
Of the 43 parks where we can rate Crested Serpent Eagle sightings, Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary ranks 2nd at about 60%. The best odds are in Wilpattu National Park (Sri Lanka, about 70%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Accipitridae
The closest relatives of the Crested Serpent Eagle that you can see in Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary (family Accipitridae, Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) are White-Bellied Sea-Eagle (about 50%), Wallace's Hawk-Eagle (about 50%) and Brahminy Kite (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Crested Serpent Eagle is recorded against all the birds logged in Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary (1,717 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
