Rufous-bellied Eagle

Rufous-bellied Eagle

Scientific Name: Lophotriorchis kienerii

Malay Name: Helang Perut Merah

Chinese Name: 棕腹隼雕

Range: Found from India to Sri Lanka, Hainan Island and Southeast Asia.

Taxonomy: Polytypic. Subspecies are: kienerii, formosus.

Local Subspecies: formosus

Size: 53-61 cm

Identification: Adult has slight crest, blackish head-sides/upperparts, whitish throat/upperbreast and rufous-chestnut belly/vent. In flight shows mostly rufous-chestnut wing-coverts. Juvenile has browner upperparts, whitish head-sides with blackish eyeline and mostly whitish underparts/wing coverts.

Similar looking species: Osprey, Changeable Hawk-Eagle

Habitat: Forest, forest edge, secondary growth and suitable wooded areas.

Behaviour/Ecology: Usually glides and soars with wings held level.

Local Status: Rare migrant and rare visitor

Conservation Status: Near Threatened (BirdLife International 2020)

Location: Central Catchment Forest, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Dairy Farm Nature Park, Bukit Batok Nature Park, Singapore Botanic Gardens, Bidadari and Lorong Halus.

Featured reports: Mar 2022, Apr 2022, May 2022, Jul 2022, Aug 2022, Sep 2022, Oct 2022, Nov 2022

Past records in our database:

Showing only accepted records. Note that records currently under review are also not displayed, and the list may not be a full list of records of this species in Singapore. For more details, check the database here.

Migrant bar chart (see more bar charts):

Rufous-bellied Eagle Lophotriorchis kienerii
Estimated average number of individuals by week based on eBird data, Jul 2014 to Jun 2024
Peak weeks Oct 22-Oct 28, Nov 19-Nov 25
Early date 27 Jul 2022
Late date 19 Jun 2020
While some birds have been recorded oversummering in Singapore, most records of this rare raptor are during the migratory season.
Rufous-bellied Eagle at Bukit Drive. Photo credit: Francis Yap
Rufous-bellied Eagle at Jalan Asas. Photo credit: Francis Yap
Rufous-bellied Eagle at Malaysia. Photo credit: Keita Sin

External Links:

Conservation Status: IUCN Red List Page

Sound Recordings: xeno-canto Link

Wikipedia Entry: Wikipedia Link

eBird Species page: eBird (Rufous-bellied Eagle)

References:

BirdLife International. (2020). Lophotriorchis kienerii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22696111A176625288.en. Accessed on 1 January 2023

Robson, C. (2014). Field guide to the birds of South-East Asia (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing, London.

RECOMMENDED CITATION

Bird Society of Singapore. (n.d.). Rufous-bellied Eagle. Retrieved on June 9, 2025 from https://singaporebirds.com/species/rufous-bellied-eagle.

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