Circaetus fasciolatus

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Cladus: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Ordo: Accipitriformes

Familia: Accipitridae
Subfamilia: Circaetinae
Genus: Circaetus
Species: Circaetus fasciolatus
Name

Circaetus fasciolatus Kaup, 1847
References

Isis, oder Encyclopädische Zeitung 40: col.954 #262.
Vernacular names
Afrikaans: Dubbelbandslangarend
brezhoneg: Skoulerer roudennek
čeština: Orlík jižní
dansk: Båndslangeørn
Deutsch: Graubrust-Schlangenadler
English: Southern Banded Snake Eagle
español: Culebrera barreada
فارسی: عقاب مارخور نواری جنوبی
suomi: Pikkukäärmekotka
français: Circaète barré
magyar: Parti kígyászölyv
italiano: Biancone fasciato
日本語: ミナミオビチュウヒワシ
Nederlands: Grijze Slangenarend
norsk: Kystslangeørn
polski: Gadożer krótkoskrzydły
русский: Серогрудый змееяд
svenska: Kustormörn

The southern banded snake eagle (Circaetus fasciolatus), also known as the East African snake eagle or fasciated snake eagle, is a species of snake eagle in the family Accipitridae which is found in eastern Sub-Saharan Africa.
Description

The southern banded snake eagle is a rather small, stocky snake eagle with a large, rounded head which has a hooded beak. It has a grey-brown head contrasting slightly with the mainly blackish-brown upperparts and whitish underparts. The tail has a white tip and shows three distinct dark bands on the underside. The large eyes are pale yellow eyes, the feet and cere are yellow and the bill us black. The juvenile lacks the grey head, has mainly dark upperparts and the whitish pale underparts are marked with dark streaks on the face, throat and upper breast. The total length varies from 55 to 60 cm with females larger than males.[2]
Voice

The southern banded snake eagle is unobtrusive and is normally found due to its noisy, high-pitched call, "ko-ko-ko-kaw", repeatedly made either from a perch or while in flight.[2]
Distribution

The southern banded snake eagle occurs in a narrow band along the east African coast from southern Somalia to the north eastern Kwazulu-Natal and inland along the Save River into south eastern Zimbabwe.[3]
Habitat

The southern banded snake eagle is a forest species and it mainly occurs in evergreen coastal forest but also in dense inland forests close to wetlands, it is occasionally recorded from more open areas of woodland.[2]
Biology

As its name suggests, the southern banded snake eagle mainly eats snakes, hunting from a perch, scanning the surroundings for prey. If a large snake is caught, it is torn up into bite-size pieces before feeding; however, smaller snakes are swallowed whole, head-first. It has also been recorded feeding on lizards, frogs and termite alates.[4]

The nest is constructed by both sexes and is an open platform of small sticks roughly 50–70 cm wide with an inner cup which is 17 cm across and is lined with fresh foliage. The nest is normally placed in the main fork of a tree. The single egg is laid from August–October and is mainly incubated by the female for about 50 days, although the male may take over for short stints early on in the incubation period. Both parents feed the young on a diet of ripped up snakes. At first the male does the majority of the hunting, while the female looks after the nestling.[4]
References

BirdLife International (2016). "Circaetus fasciolatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22695277A93500599. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22695277A93500599.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
"Southern banded snake-eagle (Circaetus fasciolatus)". Wildscreen Arkive. Wildscreen. Archived from the original on 2016-11-04. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
Ferguson-Lees, James; Christie, David A. (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm. pp. 452–454. ISBN 0-7136-8026-1.
"Circaetus fasciolatus (Southern banded snake-eagle)". Biodiversity Explorer. Iziko Museums of Southern Africa. Retrieved 2016-11-02.