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===Subspecies===
===Subspecies===
The subspecies sometimes vary greatly in size, so that the smallest forms are three-fifths smaller and sometimes more than half the size of the largest. Another variable feature is the coloration of the upperparts of adult birds, ranging from blackish brown to reddish brown to pale brown in the various forms. The underside ranges from blackish brown to chestnut brown to a yellowish beige, with streaks or banding or a light wash of color which is barely visible.
*''Spilornis cheela asturinas''; Indonesia: Nias Island
*''Spilornis cheela batu''; Indonesia: southern Sumatra, Batu Islands
*''Spilornis cheela batu''; Indonesia: southern Sumatra, Batu Islands
*''Spilornis cheela bido''; Indonesia: Java and Bali
*''Spilornis cheela bido''; Indonesia: Java and Bali
*''Spilornis cheela spilogaster''; Sri Lanka
*''Spilornis cheela spilogaster''; Sri Lanka
The following species were once listed as subspecies; debate and research is still ongoing:
The variation of both species and subspecies within the genus ''Spilornis'' - especially the numerous island forms - is very complex and highly controversial. Authorities have described a total of twenty-seven taxa. While many authors recognize only three or five of the island's populations as separate species, others count up to thirteen. The Global Raptor Information Network recognizes thirteen species<ref>https://www.globalraptors.org/grin/SiteMap.asp?sm=3</ref>, while the International Ornithological Union counts twenty-five species and subspecies under the crested serpent-eagle name alone<ref>https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?lang=EN&avibaseid=F98A9367&sec=summary&ssver=1</ref>. Once considered subspecies under ''S. cheela'', the following are recognized as species by many authorities:
*[[Andaman serpent-eagle]], ''Spilornis elgini''
*[[Andaman serpent-eagle]], ''Spilornis elgini''
*[[Great Nicobar serpent-eagle]], ''Spilornis klossi''
*[[Great Nicobar serpent-eagle]], ''Spilornis klossi''
*[[Kinabalu serpent-eagle]], ''Spilornis kinabaluensis''
*[[Philippine serpent-eagle]], ''Spilornis holospila''
*[[Philippine serpent-eagle]], ''Spilornis holospila''
*[[Sulawesi serpent-eagle]], ''Spilornis rufipectus''
==Range and habitat==
The crested serpent-eagle has a large range over much of southern and southeastern Asia, from the Indus river valley in Pakistan eastward along the southern Himalaya mountains to China, and south to Sri Lanka, Indochina, and much of Indonesia. It is found in a wide range of forest types, including both primary and secondary forests and plantations, deciduous and evergreen forests, wet and dry, closed or semi-open, from sea level to more than 9,000 feet elevation. The species can also be found in savannah interspersed with woodland, wooded ravines or gallery forests; within the Andaman Islands it can also hunt and nest within mangrove. The species also hunts near human settlements and in cultivated land.
==Diet==
The prey is usually captured from a perch; the bird is predominantly a still hunter, and will usually sit motionless at the edge of a clearing before it makes an attack. Food consists mainly of reptiles, with snakes making up the largest part, with lizards, frogs and small mammals taken; rarely taken when the opportunity arrives are sick or injured birds. On the Andaman Islands crabs and eels are part of the diet.
==References==
==References==
<small><references/></small>
<small><references/></small>
[[Category:Birds of Prey]][[Category:Eagles]]
[[Category:Birds of Prey]][[Category:Eagles]]