Mountain Hawk-Eagle or Hodgson`s Hawk-Eagle is an Indian bird with a scientific name "Nisaetus nipalensis", earlier treated under Spizaetus. Mountain hawk-eagle is a bird of prey. Mountain hawk-eagle belongs to the family ogAccipitridae.
Breeding Season of Mountain Hawk-Eagle
Mountain Hawk-Eagle breeds in the Indian subcontinent, from India, Nepal to Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia and Japan.
Structure of Mountain Hawk-Eagle
Mountain Hawk-Eagle is a medium-large raptor at 69-84 cm in length and a wingspan of 134-175 cm. The typical adult has brown upperparts and pale under parts, with barring on the undersides of the flight feathers and tail. The breast and belly and under wing coverts are heavily streaked. The wings are broad with a curved trailing edge, and are held in a shallow V in flight.
Sexes of Mountain Hawk-Eagle
The sexes of Mountain Hawk-Eagle are similar, but young birds are often whiter-headed.
Population of Mountain Hawk-Eagle
The population concentration of Mountain hawk-eagle is in Sri Lankan and South Indian population and it is smaller and has unstreaked buff under wing coverts. The Japanese subspecies N. N. orientalis is larger, lighter, and has only a very small crest, which is large in the other two subspecies. The Japanese subspecies usually weighs 2.2-3.6 kg (4.8-8 lbs). The heavier under part streaking and wing shape helps to distinguish this species from the similar crested hawk-eagle.
Concentration of Mountain Hawk-Eagle
Mountain Hawk-Eagle is a bird of mountain woodland, which builds a stick nest in a tree and lays usually a single egg. Mountain Hawk-Eagles eat small mammals, birds and reptiles.
Reduction of Population of Mountain Hawk-Eagle
Mountain Hawk-Eagle is not considered a globally threatened species, while the Japanese population of Mountain Hawk-Eagle is declining. As the species is a K-strategist like all eagles, Mountain Hawk-Eagle was feared that the ongoing population reduction of N. N. orientalis might lead to loss of genetic diversity, and consequently inbreeding depression. However, genetic diversity was shown to be still considerable at present.
