Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle at Cerro Azul

Bill Porteous, Indra Candanedo, Henry Stockwell, Marianne Akers and Karl Kaufmann spent about 5 minutes observing a Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle from the patio of the Kaufmann residence in Cerro Azul. The bird was perched sideways to the viewers in a tree about 15 m away and was partially obscured by branches. The bird was the size of a large hawk, had a white head with a small black crest. It had very prominent black lores, the black extending back round the eye. The bill was black with an orange cere. The underparts were all white, and the back was black. The legs were feathered white to the toes, which were bright yellow. There was no barring present, which distinguishes it from a juvenile Ornate Hawk-Eagle as does the orange cere and black mask. The cere and mask also distinguish it from the light morph juvenile Grey-headed Kite.