Wildlifeof Vietnam
Mountain Hawk-Eagle
Birds of Prey
Photo: (c) Brodie Cass Talbott, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY
Nisaetus nipalensis
Rare visitor: recorded only occasionally in this country
Basic stats
Diet
Birds, mammals and reptiles, taken opportunistically
Habitat
Forest; mostly 600–2,800m in the Himalayas
Range
Himalayas from north-eastern Pakistan through India, Nepal and Bhutan to north Assam, and south into Myanmar, Thailand and Laos
The mountain hawk-eagle, or Hodgson's hawk-eagle, is a large bird of prey native to Asia, named for Brian Houghton Hodgson, who described it after collecting one in the Himalayas. Adults are dark brown above with slightly paler feather edges, and the crest is largely black with a small buffy tip. It was formerly placed in the genus Spizaetus (Wikipedia, general species account).
In the Himalayas it mostly lives at 600 to 2,800m, and it has been recorded up to 4,000m in northern Yunnan. It is distributed from north-eastern Pakistan through north India, Nepal and Bhutan to northern Assam. In Bhutan, fragmentary information suggests short-distance altitudinal movements are not infrequent. As is typical of hawk-eagles, it is a forest-dwelling opportunistic predator, taking birds, mammals and reptiles, and is silent apart from the breeding season.
Quick answers
- What does the Mountain Hawk-Eagle eat?
- Birds, mammals and reptiles, taken opportunistically
- What habitat does the Mountain Hawk-Eagle live in?
- Forest; mostly 600–2,800m in the Himalayas
- Where is the Mountain Hawk-Eagle found?
- Himalayas from north-eastern Pakistan through India, Nepal and Bhutan to north Assam, and south into Myanmar, Thailand and Laos