CreatureData

Mountain serpent eagle

Spilornis kinabaluensis W. L. Sclater, 1919

NTNear Threatenedbirds of prey

The mountain serpent eagle (Spilornis kinabaluensis) is a species in the family Accipitridae, order Accipitriformes. Recorded adults weigh 420 g to 800 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Near Threatened.

Mountain serpent eagle (Spilornis kinabaluensis)
Photo: no rights reserved · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the mountain serpent eagle

Weight
420 g – 800 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
1.18 m – 1.29 msrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Carnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
35 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
1src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the mountain serpent eagle?

MOUNTAIN SERPENT EAGLE · WINGSPAN 1.29 MADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 1.29 m, the recorded maximum wingspan of the mountain serpent eagle is about 76% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the mountain serpent eagle live?

Not recorded

What is the mountain serpent eagle?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The mountain serpent eagle (Spilornis kinabaluensis), also known as the Kinabalu serpent eagle, is a bird of prey that is found in northern Borneo. It is found at altitudes of 1,000–4,100 metres (3,300–13,500 ft) in forest, especially where it becomes stunted. Where their range overlaps, the crested serpent eagle generally occurs at lower altitudes. The mountain serpent eagle is darker than the Bornean subspecies of the crested serpent eagle.

The mountain serpent eagle is threatened by habitat loss. However, they occur within the Kinabalu National Park and the Gunung Mulu National Park. Their high-altitude habitats are usually too remote for logging and agriculture, making some of its range secure.

From the Wikipedia article “Mountain serpent eagle” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mountain_serpent_eagle&oldid=1335652534), 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.

Is the mountain serpent eagle endangered?

The mountain serpent eagle is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species.

How is the mountain serpent eagle classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderAccipitriformes
  5. familyAccipitridae
  6. genusSpilornis
  7. SpeciesSpilornis kinabaluensis W. L. Sclater, 1919

Synonyms Spilornis cheela kinabaluensis

Other names and names in other languages (43)
  • Kinabalu serpent-eagleEnglish
  • Kinabalu serpent-eagleEnglish
  • Mountain serpent-eagleEnglish
  • Mountain serpent-eagleEnglish
  • عقاب الأفعى الجبليArabic
  • àguila serpera de BorneoCatalan
  • orlík kinabalskýCzech
  • eryr nadroedd KinabaluWelsh
  • BorneoslangeørnDanish
  • Kinabalu SlangeørnDanish
  • BergschlangenadlerGerman
  • BergschlangenweiheGerman
  • kinabalua serpentagloEsperanto
  • Culebrera de KinabaluSpanish
  • Águila Culebrera de KinabaluSpanish
  • Culebrera del KinabaluSpanish
  • mägi-maduhaugasEstonian
  • عقاب مارخور کوهیPersian
  • borneonharjakotkaFinnish
  • Serpentaire du KinabaluFrench
  • Serpentaire des KinabaluFrench
  • borneanski zmijarCroatian
  • borneói kígyászsasHungarian
  • Elang-ular kinabaluIndonesian
  • Serpentario montanoItalian
  • キナバルカンムリワシJapanese
  • kinabalinis gyvatėdisLithuanian
  • Burung Helang KinabaluMalay
  • KinabaluslangenarendDutch
  • borneosnokørnNorwegian
  • wężojad górskiPolish
  • águia-cobreira-montesaPortuguese
  • águia-cobreira-de-bornéuPortuguese
  • águia-serpentária-montesaPortuguese
  • Борнейский змееядRussian
  • Кинабалусский хохлатый змееядRussian
  • hadiar horskýSlovak
  • Planinski zmijarSerbian
  • kinabaluhjälmörnSwedish
  • Dağ Yılan KartalıTurkish
  • змієїд гірськийUkrainian
  • 山蛇雕Chinese
  • 山蛇鵰Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the mountain serpent eagle

Other species in the same genus Spilornis.

CompareMountain serpent eagle vs Crested serpent eagleMountain serpent eagle vs Andaman serpent eagleMountain serpent eagle vs Great Nicobar serpent eagleMountain serpent eagle vs Sulawesi serpent eagle

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the mountain serpent eagle?

An adult mountain serpent eagle weighs 420 g – 800 g and has a wingspan of 1.18 m – 1.29 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the mountain serpent eagle endangered?

The mountain serpent eagle is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is close to qualifying as threatened.

What kind of animal is the mountain serpent eagle?

The mountain serpent eagle (Spilornis kinabaluensis) 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.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Mountain serpent eagle (Spilornis kinabaluensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/mountain-serpent-eagle

MLA

“Mountain serpent eagle (Spilornis kinabaluensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/mountain-serpent-eagle.

BibTeX
@misc{mountain_serpent_eagle_2026,
  title = {Mountain serpent eagle (Spilornis kinabaluensis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/mountain-serpent-eagle},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}