Bird watching in Africa - Brown snake eagle

The brown snake eagle (Circaetus cinereus) is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is found in West, East and southern Africa.

Range map from www.oiseaux.net - Ornithological Portal Oiseaux.net

www.oiseaux.net is one of those MUST visit pages if you're in to bird watching. You can find just about everything there

Description
Their plumage is entirely brown, but some of them could have some white feathers. The juvenile eagles stay around the nest for 60–100 days, until they fledge. The juvenile brown snake eagle is completely independent a few weeks after fledging.

The brown snake eagle is of average size, compared with larger species, such as the Bald Eagle, reaching only 60-70 centimeters in height. They also live less, only 7–10 years.

Diet
The brown snake eagle feeds mainly on snakes, being able to kill venomous snakes such as cobras. They have natural protection against bites, with thick-skinned legs. Besides snakes, the brown snake eagle feeds on lizards and small mammals.

Behavior
The brown snake eagle prefers the nests made by other birds. They usually take deserted and partially destroyed nests, which they prefer to repair. If they need to build a new one, they choose a tree or a high rock, far from the habitat of predators and from human settlements. Like other species of snake eagles, they lay only one egg per year, which is mainly incubated by the female.

Listen to the Brown snake eagle

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

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Conservation status