Indonesian Conservation Media Center

Black Eagle, The Sky Ruler

Black eagle or Ictinaetus malayensis is a kind of eagle that has general characteristics such as a large black or brownish black body; a pinched head; long primary feathers and wide oar shaped wings; long tails pinched in at the innermost primary, the colors around the eyes are variations of white, and it has brown eyes. During adolescent, the birds have the characteristics: their upper body is dark like those of the adults with transversal streaks; thin strokes on the tail; with orange color in the head and its sides, the lower body has white spots on the outer primary feathers which are often a little larger than those of the adults. When flying in normal condition, their wings movements are slow and deep.

The bird has the scientific classification as follows:

Kingdom                     : Animalia     

Phyllum                       :Chordata         

Subphyllum                 :Vertebrata    
Class                            :Aves           
Ordo                            :Falconiformes                 
Familly                        :Accipitridae           
Genus                          :Ictinaetus             
Species                      : Ictinaetus malayensis Temminck, 1822

Naturally, the distribution of the black eagle is in several countries, such as: North and South India, Nepal and Sri Lanka; Burma (I. m. Malayensis), Central and Southeast China, Taiwan, across Indochina and Malayan Peninsula, Sula until Indonesia. In Indonesia alone, the bird can be found in Nias, Sumatra, Belitung, Kalimantan, Java, Bali, Sulawesi, Buton, Banggai, Sula archipelago, Halmahera, Ternate, Buru and Seram.

Black eagle is a kind of carnivore bird with smaller birds and mammals as their food sources, also lizards, frogs, large insects, it usually likes to pray other birds that nest on high trees, bushes, meadows, and even cave holes. The habitat for this bird is in the evergreen forests, or the forests that are green all year long, monsoon forests, secondary forests, and bushes. This bird can be found at 300 m to 2000 m altitude and it can live in different types of habitat.

            The reproductive season for this bird is between April and August. The bird lays 1-2 eggs, and the eggs are guarded until they hatch in the nest. The nest characteristics are: it is 120 wide and 45-60 cm deep; it is composed of green leaves, located on the top of a huge tree and disguised by twining plants. Besides that, nests are rarely found in steep cliffs.

            Black eagle population during these recent decades have been declining. This is caused by use changes of forests into other uses of lands such as for settlements and industrial development. Today, the black eagle is included into protected animal category, based on the Government Regulation Number 7 and 8 year 1999. It is also listed in the Appendix II CITES.

Source:

www.bio.undip.ac.id/sbw/spesies/sp_elang_hitam.htm downloaded on 23 June 2010 at 19.45 o’clock.

raptorindonesia.org/elang-hitam/ downloaded on 23 June at 20.05 o’clock.