Short-toed snake eagle

Short-toed snake eagle
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Accipitriformes
Family:	Accipitridae
Subfamily:	Circaetinae
Genus:	Circaetus
Species:	C. gallicus
Binomial name
Circaetus gallicus (Gmelin, 1788)
Range of C. gallicus      Breeding range     Resident range     Wintering range

The short-toed snake eagle (Circaetus gallicus), also known as short-toed eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers.

Range and habitat

The short toes that give the name

This is an Old World species found throughout the Mediterranean basin, into Russia and the Middle East, and parts of Asia, mainly in the Indian Subcontinent and also further east in some Indonesian islands.

Those present on the northern edge of the Mediterranean and other parts of Europe migrate mainly to sub-Saharan Africa north of the equator, leaving in September/October and returning in April/May. In the Middle and Far East the populations are resident. In Europe, it is most numerous in Spain where it is fairly common but elsewhere it is rare in many parts of its range. A bird on the Isles of Scilly, Britain, in October 1999 was the first confirmed record for that country.

The short-toed snake eagle is found in open cultivated plains, arid stony deciduous scrub areas and foothills and semi-desert areas. It requires trees for nesting and open habitats, such as cultivations and grasslands for foraging.

Description

Adults are 62–67 cm (2 ft 0 in – 2 ft 2 in) long with a 170–185 cm (5 ft 7 in – 6 ft 1 in) wingspan and weigh 1.2–2.3 kg (2.6–5.1 lb). They can be recognised in the field by their predominantly white underside, the upper parts being greyish brown. The chin, throat and upper breast are a pale, earthy brown. The tail has 3 or 4 bars. Additional indications are an owl-like rounded head, brightly yellow eyes and lightly barred under wing.

In Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary, India

The short-toed snake eagle is an accomplished flyer and spends more time on the wing than do most members of its genus. It favours soaring over hill slopes and hilltops on updraughts, and it does much of its hunting from this position at heights of up to 500 m (1,600 ft). When quartering open country it frequently hovers like a kestrel. When it soars it does so on flattish wings.

Behaviour

Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden

Its prey is mostly reptiles, mainly snakes, but also some lizards. Sometimes they become entangled with larger snakes and battle on the ground. Occasionally, they prey on small mammals up to the size of a rabbit, and rarely birds and large insects.

This eagle is generally very silent. On occasions, it emits a variety of musical whistling notes. When breeding, it lays only one egg. It can live up to 17 years.

The short-toed snake eagle has suffered a steep decline in numbers and range in Europe and is now rare and still decreasing in several countries due to changes in agriculture and land use. It needs protection. In the middle and far eastern part of its range, this species is not yet threatened.

Historical material

In his description of the species, Buffon says that he kept one of these eagles in captivity and observed its behavior. The captive bird ate mice and frogs, and he states that the Jean-de-blanc was well known by French farmers for raiding poultry.

Gallery

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  In flight

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  In Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary, India

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  Swallowing prey while flying

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  Head

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  Detail of the feathers

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  With a rat

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  Flying

External links

• Short-toed-Eagle.net
• Ageing and sexing (PDF; 3.3 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze
• BirdLife species factsheet for Circaetus gallicus
• Circaetus gallicus on Avibase
• Short-toed Snake-eagle videos, photos, and sounds at the Internet Bird Collection
• Short-toed snake eagle photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
• Audio recordings of Short-toed Snake Eagle on Xeno-canto.