Biology
provided by Arkive
The southern banded snake-eagle is a secretive and solitary species (1), usually remaining beneath the forest canopy. When hunting, this species perches silently in trees at the edges of clearings and rivers, and when prey appears it swoops to the ground, snatching it up in its large, sharp talons. As its name suggests this species' preferred source of food is snakes, but it will also take lizards, termites, large beetles, mice, and even chickens (4).
During the breeding season, the male southern banded snake-eagle may be seen soaring above the forest canopy, repeatedly calling in a display designed to attract a mate (4). Once breeding pairs have formed, they construct a nest from twigs lined with green leaves, in which a single egg is laid (4) (5) (6). Egg-laying occurs from July to October in the northern parts of this species' range and from September to October in the southern parts (4).
Conservation
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While there are currently no specific conservation measures in place for the southern banded snake-eagle, it does occur in a number of protected areas (5). It is one of the many threatened species found in the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is currently being developed into an outstanding birding area to attract high levels of eco-tourism. This will help to protect the area against human development and conserve its remarkable species (7). Nevertheless, in order to preserve the southern banded snake-eagle in other parts of its range, its habitat and population will need to be continually monitored, and protected areas will need to be expanded (5).
Description
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This small and relatively inconspicuous eagle could easily go unspotted in the wild, save for its noisy, high-pitched call, ko-ko-ko-kaw, repeatedly made while perching and in flight (4). The southern banded snake-eagle has a large, rounded head, with the feathers flaring out from the sides down to the neck giving a cowled appearance (2) (4). The plumage is grey-brown on the head and blackish-brown on the upperparts, while the breast is brown, becoming white with grey-brown bars on the underparts and thighs. The wings are mainly blackish-brown above and whitish below (4), and the white-tipped tail is marked on the underside with three distinct dark bands (2). This species has large cream or pale yellow eyes, yellow feet and a sharply pointed bill which is black at the tip and yellow towards the base (4). The juvenile has mainly dark upperparts and pale underparts, with dark streaks on the face, throat and upper breast (2).
Habitat
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A forest-dwelling species, the southern banded snake-eagle mainly occupies evergreen coastal forest, as well as dense inland forests surrounding rivers, lakes and swamps, with occasional movement into more open areas of woodland (4).
Range
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The southern banded snake-eagle is found along the east coast of central and southern Africa, from southern Somalia, south through Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique to north-eastern South Africa. It is also found along the Save River, running through Zimbabwe and Mozambique (5).
Status
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Classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List (1) and listed on Appendix II of CITES (3).
Threats
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The southern banded snake-eagle is uncommon throughout most of its range, with populations in South Africa limited to just 40 to 50 pairs. At present it is not known if this species' overall population is in decline, but the continual degradation and fragmentation of its coastal forest habitat for use as timber, charcoal and firewood certainly presents a significant threat. Deforestation and the expansion of human populations have already potentially destroyed populations previously found along the coast of Mozambique between the Limpopo and Save Rivers (5).
Comprehensive Description
provided by Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology
Circaetus fasciolatus Kaup
In 1966, Forbes-Watson obtained six specimens of the Southern Banded Harrier Eagle in the Sokoke Forest as follows: one male and two females, 14–19 January and one male and two females, 19–22 July.
This Harrier Eagle occurs in the coastal forests of eastern Africa from Natal north to Kenya. Mackworth-Praed and Grant (1952) give the wing measurements of this species, based, presumably, on specimens collected from Natal to Tanzania, as ranging from 362 to 372 mm. Our specimens measure 345 to 354 mm. These figures reflect a steep cline in the wing length of this species, considering its rather limited geographical range in eastern Africa.
Birds taken in July were in fresh plumage and were considerably darker both above and below than worn birds taken in January. Both January and July females had the ovary slightly enlarged.
Zimmerman and Mumford (1965) record a specimen of the Southern Banded Harrier Eagle, collected by the former in the Sokoke Forest, 16 August 1963, as representing the first specimen of this species to be obtained in Kenya. There is, however, an earlier specimen in the collection of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, taken at Ngatana, Tana River, Kenya, on 13 June 1934, by A. Loveridge, for which there appears to be no published record.
- bibliographic citation
- Ripley, S. Dillon and Bond, Gorman M. 1971. "Systematic notes on a collection of birds from Kenya." Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology. 1-21. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00810282.111
Southern banded snake eagle
provided by wikipedia EN
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
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Southern banded snake eagle: Brief Summary
provided by wikipedia EN
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.
- license
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- copyright
- Wikipedia authors and editors
