2009, August 10. Philippine Birds - Definitives (Reprints
2009B)
Litho Offset.
Amstar Company, Inc. Perf. 13.5
Singles, Sheets
of 100
9p Crested Serpent Eagle - Singles
(1,100,000)
Design: All pictures taken from
the book "A Guide to the Birds of the Philippines" by Robert S.
Kennedy, Pedro C. Gonzales, Edward C. Dickinson, Hector C. Miranda,
Jr., and Timothy H. Fisher.
First Day Covers: Manila
9p -
Crested
Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela or Kanmuri-washi).
Like all eagles, it is in the family
Accipitridae. The Philippine Serpent Eagle (S. holospila) is
sometimes included here as a subspecies. The Crested Serpent Eagle
can be found in a large geographical region from South Asia,
including Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka, to Southeast Asia,
extending to southern China and Indonesia. This forest bird nests in
treetops near fresh water. Its nests are constructed with sticks and
contain not more than a single egg at a time.
It is a medium large raptor at about
55-75cm in length. Adults have dark brown upperparts and head, and
have a hooded appearance at rest. The underparts and underwing
coverts are pale brown. In soaring flight, the broad wings are held
in a shallow V. The tail and underside of the flight feathers are
black with broad white bars. When perched, they appear large headed
and owl-like due to the shape of the face and positioning of the
eyes.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spilornis_cheela).