On 28th March 2013, Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS took time off from his busy schedule to visit one of his favourite spot, Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands. While trekking up a mountain road through the montane forest, he encountered a Crested Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela malayensis) at about 2,000m ASL (above).
As Amar related his encounter, “Saw this adult sitting quietly in the middle of primary montane forest (off the road) and was quite tolerant of my presence, although we were at eye level with each other.”
As always, he had his faithful Nikon D7100 SLR (with Sigma AF OS Zoom 150-500mm) with him. As he prefers handheld shots to using a tripod, he was quick on the draw and managed to document a series of images in case the eagle decided to move off.
“Never noticed the beauty of the chest feather before (above and below) that are almost like a ‘wedding trellis’ or veil hanging down,” enthused Amar. “Extremely adapt at flying through thick forest.”
One Response
Dr Amar, I totally understand how you feel about the front feathers. The first time I saw this raptor face-to-face was a captured one and the delicate lace-like feathers caught my attention. Reminded me of the Peranakan embroidery.