• 

  Profile

• 

  In flight

Birds of Prey

Short-toed Snake-Eagle

Circaetus gallicus

• uncommon
• 80 km/h
• Least Concern

Hovers stationary in the sky, then drops onto snakes. Your message arrives clutched in dragon-slaying talons.

Population

Preliminary global estimate ~58,200–93,800 mature individuals (BirdLife, derived from Europe forming ~34% of global range); European breeding population ~9,900–16,000 pairs (~19,800–31,900 mature individuals)

Habitat

Open country — arid plains, semi-desert, scrub, and foothills interspersed with woodland or scattered trees for nesting

Fun fact

Unlike most large eagles, the Short-toed Snake-Eagle frequently hunts by hovering in place like a giant kestrel — quartering open country and scanning the ground below before stooping onto snakes and lizards.

Range

Mediterranean basin, North Africa, and Middle East through Central/Western Asia to the Indian subcontinent and parts of Indonesia (nominate ssp. across NW Africa/S Europe to Kazakhstan; ssp. sacerdotis in the Lesser Sunda Islands — Java, Bali, Lombok, Timor); northern populations winter in the Sahel/sub-Saharan Africa, southern/eastern populations largely resident

Diet

Reptile specialist — feeds mainly on snakes and lizards, occasionally small mammals up to rabbit-size, plus birds and large insects

Size

0.65 m

Wingspan

1.78 m

Lifespan

17 years