Changeable hawk-eagle
Nisaetus cirrhatus (J. F. Gmelin, 1788)
The changeable hawk-eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus) is a species in the family Accipitridae, order Accipitriformes. Recorded adults weigh 1.36 kg to 1.59 kg. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the changeable hawk-eagle
- Weight
- 1.36 kg – 1.59 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 1.34 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the changeable hawk-eagle?
Photos of the changeable hawk-eagle
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Where does the changeable hawk-eagle live?
Not recorded
What is the changeable hawk-eagle?
The changeable hawk-eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus) or crested hawk-eagle is a large bird of prey species of the family Accipitridae. More informal or antiquated English common names include the marsh hawk-eagle or Indian crested hawk-eagle. It is a member of the subfamily Aquilinae, with signature feathers, absent in tropical raptors from outside this subfamily, covering the tarsus. It was formerly placed in the genus Spizaetus, but studies pointed to the group being paraphyletic resulting in the Old World members being placed in Nisaetus and separated from the New World species. It is a typical "hawk-eagle" in that it is an agile forest-dwelling predator and like many such eagles readily varies its prey selection between birds, mammals or reptiles as well as other vertebrates. Among the members of its genus, the changeable hawk-eagle stands out as the most widely distributed, adaptable and abundant species. Individuals show a wide range of variation in plumage from pale to dark, varying with moult and age giving rise to the name "changeable".
From the Wikipedia article “Changeable hawk-eagle” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Changeable_hawk-eagle&oldid=1383965831), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the changeable hawk-eagle sound like?
Is the changeable hawk-eagle endangered?
The changeable hawk-eagle is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the changeable hawk-eagle classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAccipitriformes
- familyAccipitridae
- genusNisaetus
- SpeciesNisaetus cirrhatus (J. F. Gmelin, 1788)
Synonyms Falco cirrhatus, Nisaetus limnaeetus limnaeetus, Spizaetus cirrhatus, Spizaetus cirrhatus cirrhatus
Other names and names in other languages (51)
- Changeable hawk eagleEnglish
- Changeable hawk eagleEnglish
- Changeable hawk eagleEnglish
- Crested hawk-eagleEnglish
- Crested hawk-eagleEnglish
- أفياء متغيرArabic
- عقاب بازي متغيرArabic
- শাবাজBangla
- àguila variableCatalan
- orel proměnlivýCzech
- Lysbuget HøgeørnDanish
- IndienhaubenadlerGerman
- HaubenadlerGerman
- varia agloEsperanto
- Águila variableSpanish
- Águila azor variableSpanish
- Águila-azor variableSpanish
- välu-tuttkotkasEstonian
- شاهبازPersian
- jalokotkaFinnish
- Aigle huppéFrench
- Aigle huppé ja=カワリクマタカFrench
- pjegavoglavi oraoCroatian
- főkötős vitézsasHungarian
- Elang brontokIndonesian
- Aquilastore variabileItalian
- Aquila dal ciuffo variabileItalian
- インドクマタカJapanese
- カワリクマタカJapanese
- kuoduotasis peslinis erelisLithuanian
- കിന്നരിപ്പരുന്ത്Malayalam
- मोरघारMarathi
- indiaskogørnNorwegian Bokmål
- Indische KuifarendDutch
- vekselskogørnNorwegian
- wojownik indyjskiPolish
- águia-variávelPortuguese
- águia-gavião-variávelPortuguese
- gavião-variávelPortuguese
- Изменчивый хохлатый орёлRussian
- orlovec viactvarýSlovak
- Raznobojni/ćubasti jastrebasti oraoSerbian
- orientörnSwedish
- Indisk tofsörnSwedish
- variabel hökörnSwedish
- เหยี่ยวต่างสีThai
- Değişken Atmaca KartalıTurkish
- орел-чубань індійськийUkrainian
- 冠鷹鵰Chinese
- 凤头鹰雕Chinese
- 鳳頭鷹鵰Chinese
Relatives of the changeable hawk-eagle
Other species in the same genus Nisaetus.
Mountain hawk-eagle
Nisaetus nipalensis
Javan hawk-eagle
Nisaetus bartelsi
Blyth's hawk-eagle
Nisaetus alboniger
Wallace's hawk-eagle
Nisaetus nanus
Philippine hawk-eagle
Nisaetus philippensis
Sulawesi hawk-eagle
Nisaetus lanceolatus
CompareChangeable hawk-eagle vs Mountain hawk-eagleChangeable hawk-eagle vs Javan hawk-eagleChangeable hawk-eagle vs Blyth's hawk-eagleChangeable hawk-eagle vs Wallace's hawk-eagle
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the changeable hawk-eagle?
An adult changeable hawk-eagle weighs 1.36 kg – 1.59 kg and has a wingspan of 1.34 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the changeable hawk-eagle endangered?
The changeable hawk-eagle is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the changeable hawk-eagle?
The changeable hawk-eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus) belongs to the family Accipitridae in the order Accipitriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Changeable hawk-eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/changeable-hawk-eagle
“Changeable hawk-eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/changeable-hawk-eagle.
@misc{changeable_hawk_eagle_2026,
title = {Changeable hawk-eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/changeable-hawk-eagle},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}