Circaetus
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| Circaetus | |
|---|---|
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| Short-toed Snake Eagle | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Accipitriformes |
| Family: | Accipitridae |
| Subfamily: | Circaetinae |
| Genus: | Circaetus Vieillot, 1816 |
| Species | |
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C. gallicus |
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Circaetus, the snake eagles, is a genus of medium-sized eagles in the bird of prey family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as buzzards and harriers.
These are mainly resident African species, but the migratory Short-toed Snake Eagle breeds from the Mediterranean basin into Russia, the Middle East and India, and winters in sub-Saharan Africa and east to Indonesia.
Snake eagles are found in open habitats like cultivated plains arid savannaha, but require trees in which to build a stick nest. The single egg is incubated mainly or entirely by the female.
Circaetus eagles have a rounded head and broad wings. They prey on reptiles, mainly snakes, but also take lizards and occasionally small mammals.
[edit] Species in taxonomic order
- Short-toed Snake Eagle, Circaetus gallicus
- Black-chested Snake Eagle, Circaetus pectoralis - sometimes included in C. gallicus
- Beaudouin's Snake Eagle, Circaetus beaudouini - sometimes included in C. gallicus
- Brown Snake Eagle, Circaetus cinereus
- Southern Banded Snake Eagle or Fasciated Snake Eagle, Circaetus fasciolatus
- Western Banded Snake Eagle, Circaetus cinerascens
