Crested Serpent Eagle is a widespread resident raptor in Peninsular India. Its primary diet consists mainly of tree snakes and lizards. We have always seen it perched motionless, its sharp eyes scanning the forest ground and trees for prey.
Here’s a compilation of images of the Serpent Eagle taken from our various visits to the wildlife sanctuaries in Southern India.
This CSE (Crested Serpent Eagle) was sidelight in golden morning light.

This one was well camouflaged against the backdrop of the dried tree trunk.
This one was busy calling out for for a partner which unfortunately didn’t turn up.
This juvenile was a beauty to watch, however it refused to sit on a open perch though we followed it from perch to perch for 15 mins.

This CSE was photographed on a dead tree trunk on a wet monsoon evening.
This again was photographed after a heavy downpour and it allowed us to get very for this almost full frame shot.