Black-chested Snake-eagle
Posted: Wed May 30, 2012 11:32 am
143. Black-chested Snake-eagle (Formerly known as Black-breasted Snake-eagle) Circaetus pectoralis (Swartborsslangarend)
ORDER ACCIPITRIFORMES. Family: Accipitridae
Descpription
Sexes alike. The main identification character of this bird is its dark brown head and chest, to which it owes its name. Paler on the upperparts and noticeably rufous chest. Unfeatherd lower legs, in flight plain white underparts and mainly white underwings apart from dark barring on the flight feathers and a narrow barred tail. The eye is bright yellow. Yellow beak.
Sometimes confused with larger Martial Eagle but does not have the black chest spots. In flight easily differentiated by white (not brown) underwings with narrow black bars across secondaries.
Juvenile: Resembles drab, ragged adult, with extensive brown spotting on belly and some white remaining on breast. Upper parts warm brown, with pale-edged back feathers and wing coverts giving scaled appearance. Large yellow eyes. In flight, underwing coverts brown; flight feathers pale with 3 distinct narrow bars.
Juveniles are smiliar to Brown Snake Eagle but have a more rufous- or yellow-brown look, particularly on the underparts. At the age of six months a few black feathers appear on the chest and from the age of ten months white feathers appear on the belly. Adult plumage usually attained after three years.
Distribution
From Ethiopia and southern Democratic Republic of Congo to northern South Africa.
Habitat
It lives in a variety of habitats, ranging from semi-desert and open grassland to Karoo scrub and closed deciduous woodland.
Diet
They feed mostly on snakes (eg. cobras, adders, boomslangs, grass snakes), but will also prey on lizards, small mammals, frogs, rodents and insects.
Breeding
Monogamous. A territorial solitary nester, the nest is built by both sexes, consisting of a saucer-shaped structure of sticks, lined with green leaves and placed in the canopy of a flat-topped Acacia. The egg-laying season in South Africa is from June-August, while elsewhere in southern Africa it is from March-October, peaking from June-October. It almost invariably lays a single egg, which is mainly incubated by the female for about 51-52 days. The chick is brooded and fed by the female, with food provided by the male. Parental care is most intense in the first 25 days of the chick's life, after which the adults visit the nest more intermittently. It eventually leaves the nest at about 90-113 days old, usually becoming fully independent six months later, although in rare cases it can stay with its parents for roughly 18 months after fledging.
Call
The call is a whistled kwo kwo kwo kweeoo. Listen to Bird Call.
Status
Fairly common resident, nomadic in non-breading season.
ORDER ACCIPITRIFORMES. Family: Accipitridae
Descpription
Sexes alike. The main identification character of this bird is its dark brown head and chest, to which it owes its name. Paler on the upperparts and noticeably rufous chest. Unfeatherd lower legs, in flight plain white underparts and mainly white underwings apart from dark barring on the flight feathers and a narrow barred tail. The eye is bright yellow. Yellow beak.
Sometimes confused with larger Martial Eagle but does not have the black chest spots. In flight easily differentiated by white (not brown) underwings with narrow black bars across secondaries.
Juvenile: Resembles drab, ragged adult, with extensive brown spotting on belly and some white remaining on breast. Upper parts warm brown, with pale-edged back feathers and wing coverts giving scaled appearance. Large yellow eyes. In flight, underwing coverts brown; flight feathers pale with 3 distinct narrow bars.
Juveniles are smiliar to Brown Snake Eagle but have a more rufous- or yellow-brown look, particularly on the underparts. At the age of six months a few black feathers appear on the chest and from the age of ten months white feathers appear on the belly. Adult plumage usually attained after three years.
Distribution
From Ethiopia and southern Democratic Republic of Congo to northern South Africa.
Habitat
It lives in a variety of habitats, ranging from semi-desert and open grassland to Karoo scrub and closed deciduous woodland.
Diet
They feed mostly on snakes (eg. cobras, adders, boomslangs, grass snakes), but will also prey on lizards, small mammals, frogs, rodents and insects.
Breeding
Monogamous. A territorial solitary nester, the nest is built by both sexes, consisting of a saucer-shaped structure of sticks, lined with green leaves and placed in the canopy of a flat-topped Acacia. The egg-laying season in South Africa is from June-August, while elsewhere in southern Africa it is from March-October, peaking from June-October. It almost invariably lays a single egg, which is mainly incubated by the female for about 51-52 days. The chick is brooded and fed by the female, with food provided by the male. Parental care is most intense in the first 25 days of the chick's life, after which the adults visit the nest more intermittently. It eventually leaves the nest at about 90-113 days old, usually becoming fully independent six months later, although in rare cases it can stay with its parents for roughly 18 months after fledging.
Call
The call is a whistled kwo kwo kwo kweeoo. Listen to Bird Call.
Status
Fairly common resident, nomadic in non-breading season.