Crested Eagle

How to find it

Start with the two areas that have recent records: Sarapiquí, where staff naturalists at one reserve lead regular birding walks on its trail network, and Sirena in Corcovado on the Osa Peninsula. Many Drake Bay guides run boat day trips to Sirena Ranger Station, with groups meeting on the main beach in the early morning. One birding guide also suggests the Osa Peninsula around La Tarde and along the road to Drake Bay. A near-adult was verified near Poza Azul and Tirimbina in Sarapiquí. Scan the tallest dead trees of the forest, since it often lands on emergent snags, and look along river edges in very humid forest.

How to recognise it

Look for these marks:

A very large forest eagle.

Broad, rounded wings.

A very long tail.

A single pointed crest, a feathery plume it raises when alert.

A fairly small bill and small feet for such a big raptor.

Adults come in two forms, a pale phase and a darker, more heavily barred phase. Adults show a barred underside and no black collar across the chest. Immatures are mostly white with a grey back, and they take about three years to reach adult plumage. The Crested Eagle has one long crest feather.

Behaviour and diet

The Crested Eagle is a solitary bird. In Costa Rica it hunts from hidden perches in the canopy, catching prey in flight or taking it straight off tree trunks. Across its range it is usually seen alone or in pairs. It perches for long spells in the tallest treetops, and it may also fly slowly above the canopy looking for prey. For its size it is very discreet, usually staying in the canopy, though it sometimes rests in the open at the forest edge.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica it prefers lowland primary forest. It is also found in nearby secondary growth and in partly open areas. It may once have been widespread in the humid lowlands of the Caribbean slope and the far south Pacific slope. Today recent sightings are scattered: the dense forests of Sarapiquí, the northern Caribbean lowlands and the protected forests of the Osa Peninsula. Across its whole range it is most often noted from sea level to about 600 m, with a few sightings in Andean foothill forest up to 1,600 m.

Similar birds

The Harpy Eagle is the bird most often confused with it, and both are very rare. The Harpy is bulkier, especially in the bill, with a relatively shorter tail and a split crest. The Crested Eagle has a single crest and a longer tail. Adult Crested Eagles also show a barred underside and no black collar across the chest.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

The Costa Rican Spanish name is Águila Crestada. Other Spanish names used for this bird in the region include águila moñuda, águila monera, águila morena and arpía menor.

Status and conservation

The AOCR lists it as a rare resident (R), and it is considered critically endangered within Costa Rica, while worldwide the IUCN lists it as Near Threatened.

Photography tips

It often lands on the tallest dead trees of the forest, so scanning emergent snags is a sensible way to look for it. It favours very humid, nearly impenetrable forest, especially along river edges.