The Short-toed Snake Eagle, the reptile specialist among birds of prey.
Introduction
The Short-toed Snake Eagle (Circaetus gallicus) is a large diurnal bird of prey belonging to the Accipitridae family. Its name highlights its short toes and specialized diet of snakes. This elegant and powerful eagle is renowned for its ability to hunt snakes and other reptiles, which constitute the majority of its diet.
A migratory bird, the Short-toed Snake Eagle winters in Africa and returns to Europe from early March to late September to breed. Its majestic flight, often soaring or hovering, is characteristic of this species of warm climates.
Length: 60 to 72 cm (23.6 to 28.3 in) (females are larger than males).
Wingspan: 160 to 185 cm (63 to 72.8 in).
Weight: 1.2 to 2 kg (2.6 to 4.4 lbs) (male) and 1.3 to 2.3 kg (2.9 to 5.1 lbs) (female).
The Short-toed Snake Eagle is classified as "Least Concern" (LC) by the IUCN globally, but it is subject to legal protection in many countries due to persistent local threats.
Our Ornithologist's Advice
By the Les-Oiseaux.com Team, published November 6, 2025.
My personal advice: Observing a Short-toed Snake Eagle is a fascinating experience, especially if you're lucky enough to see it in action. It's a raptor that deserves special attention:
Look for it in open, dry environments: This raptor favors hilly landscapes with mosaics of open and closed environments, garrigue, maquis, dry grasslands, and stony areas. These are the places where its prey, reptiles, are most abundant.
Spot its characteristic flight: The Snake Eagle is a master of soaring and hovering ("kiting" or "windhovering"). It can remain motionless in the air, head tilted forward, scanning the ground for snakes. This is a very distinctive behavior that will help you identify it even from a distance.
Observe its silhouette in flight: Its wings are long and broad, often held straight or slightly arched, and its tail is medium-length and square-cut. From below, its very pale plumage contrasts with its darker head and the bars on its underwings and tail.
Don't be misled by its size: Although it is a large raptor (up to 1.85 m / 72.8 in wingspan), it is sometimes confused with the Common Buzzard or the European Honey Buzzard. The details of its plumage and its specialized flight will help you distinguish it.
Listen for its calls during the breeding season: Outside this period, it is discreet, but in spring, its melodious whistles or "kih kih kih" calls can give it away.
The Short-toed Snake Eagle is an essential link in the Mediterranean ecosystem, and its observation is a privilege that reminds us of the incredible diversity of adaptations in the bird world.
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Identification of the Short-toed Snake Eagle
The Short-toed Snake Eagle is a large raptor identifiable by its massive silhouette and distinctive plumage.
Plumage: Adults have uniform brown upperparts, contrasting with very pale, often white, underparts speckled with beige to chocolate brown spots or streaks. The tips of the flight feathers are black, and the tail is barred with three prominent dark bands. The bib (throat and chest) is more or less dark brown, clearly delimited. Coloration varies between individuals.
Head: It is large, rounded, and often appears darker than the rest of the underparts. Its massive shape and large eyes give it an owl-like appearance.
Eyes: Pale yellow in juveniles, they become golden yellow to orange in adults, very bright and almost frontally positioned.
Beak: Short, hooked, bluish-grey with a grayish cere.
Legs: Long, grayish-yellow, and entirely covered with thick scales that protect it from snake bites. Its toes are short, adapted for capturing reptiles.
Juvenile: Resembles adults but is generally paler, with a light chestnut head and upper chest, and paler bars under the wings.
Silhouette and Flight: An excellent glider, it uses thermal updrafts, with wings widely spread and often held straight. Its flight is slow and broad, alternating with phases of hovering ("kiting") to spot its prey.
Scientific Dimensions and Records (Short-toed Snake Eagle)
Characteristic
Male
Female
Average / Record
Length
60 – 69 cm (23.6 – 27.2 in)
62 – 72 cm (24.4 – 28.3 in)
60 – 72 cm (23.6 – 28.3 in)
Wingspan
160 – 185 cm (63 – 72.8 in)
170 – 185 cm (66.9 – 72.8 in)
160 – 185 cm (63 – 72.8 in)
Weight
1.2 – 2 kg (2.6 – 4.4 lbs)
1.3 – 2.3 kg (2.9 – 5.1 lbs)
1.1 – 3 kg (2.4 – 6.6 lbs) (max. 3 kg for large females)
Lifespan
Up to 17 years (in the wild)
Up to 17 years (in the wild)
Up to 17 years
These figures highlight the significant size of this raptor.
The Short-toed Snake Eagle can be confused with the Common Buzzard, especially from a distance. However, the Short-toed Snake Eagle is generally larger and its head is more prominent. In flight, its wings are longer and more uniform, without dark carpal patches, and its tail is longer and more square. Its flapping flight is slower than that of the Common Buzzard.
The European Honey Buzzard can also cause confusion due to a sometimes similar silhouette and plumage, especially for beginners. However, the Short-toed Snake Eagle is generally larger and its specialization in reptile hunting is a major distinction. Its head is also more massive and owl-like.
The pale morph of the Booted Eagle has light underparts, but it is smaller, more slender, and has white "landing lights" at the wing joints, as well as fully feathered tarsi, which distinguishes it from the Short-toed Snake Eagle. Their hunting methods and diet are also different, with the Booted Eagle being more of a generalist.
The Short-toed Snake Eagle is generally a discreet bird outside the breeding season. However, it becomes more noisy and vocal in spring during courtship displays and near the nest.
Its calls can include:
Whistles and Contact Calls: It emits soft, modulated whistles, sometimes described as plaintive and discordant "jee" calls. These calls decrease in volume and often end with a "yok" or "uok". These vocalizations help to locate it in flight.
Courtship Calls: During courtship, it may utter flute-like calls or monotonous "peek-o" sounds.
Alarm Calls: If disturbed near the nest, it may emit harsh, repeated calls or softer "ok-ok-ok" sounds.
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Habitat and Distribution of the Short-toed Snake Eagle
The Short-toed Snake Eagle has a wide distribution in the Old World, breeding from Spain to Mongolia and China, and from the Baltic countries to the Maghreb and the Arabian Peninsula. It is typical of warm climates with low rainfall.
It is mainly found in:
Open and fragmented woodland environments: Sparse deciduous or pine forests, alternating with large clearings, fallow land, cultivated areas, maquis, and garrigue. It avoids dense forests.
Medium-altitude mountains and hills: Up to 2,000 meters (6,560 ft) in altitude, featuring varied terrain and open hunting grounds rich in reptiles.
Sandy and stony areas: With some vegetation, pastures, and scrub.
It is a migratory species, with the exception of some sedentary populations in India and Indonesia. European populations winter in sub-Saharan Africa (Sahel belt), migrating via straits such as Gibraltar and the Bosphorus. The return to breeding sites occurs between mid-March and mid-April.
Distribution Map
Year-round Presence (Resident)
Breeding Area
Non-breeding (Wintering) Area
Passage Area (Migration)
Diet of the Short-toed Snake Eagle
The Short-toed Snake Eagle is a highly specialized predator, with its diet consisting almost exclusively of reptiles, which can account for up to 90% of its prey.
It primarily feeds on:
Snakes: Its preferred prey, particularly colubrid snakes (grass snake, Montpellier snake, Aesculapian snake), but also vipers. It can capture large snakes, up to 1.80 meters (5.9 ft) long.
Lizards: Notably the green lizard, as well as slow-worms, chameleons, geckos, and skinks.
Other vertebrates: Occasionally, amphibians, small mammals (rodents, rabbits, shrews), and small injured birds.
Invertebrates: Some large insects may supplement its diet.
The Short-toed Snake Eagle primarily hunts by sight, soaring at medium to high altitudes (20 to 450 meters / 65 to 1,475 ft), or by hovering ("kiting"). Once prey is spotted, it dives obliquely, seizes it by the middle of the body and neck with its powerful talons, and crushes or severs its head before swallowing it. Its legs are covered with thick scales protecting it from bites.
Reproduction of the Short-toed Snake Eagle
The Short-toed Snake Eagle is a monogamous species that faithfully returns to the same nesting site each year. Sexual maturity is reached around 3-4 years of age.
Nest: It builds a relatively small nest for its size (around 50 cm / 20 in in diameter), often in a tree (pines, oaks, firs, beeches), at a height of 6 to 30 meters (20 to 100 ft) from the ground. It may also reuse an old raptor or corvid nest. The nest is made of wooden twigs and lined with green leaves or pine needles.
Courtship Display: This takes place in spring (April) in Europe and consists of soaring flights, dives, and offerings of prey by the male to the female. Flute-like calls or whistles accompany these displays.
Eggs: The female usually lays a single egg (rarely a replacement clutch), plain white, between late March and mid-May. Incubation lasts approximately 45 to 47 days and is primarily performed by the female, fed by the male.
Raising the Young: The chick hatches between late May and early July, covered in down. The female remains at the nest with the young for about a month and a half, protecting it from the elements. The male brings prey. By about 45 days, the young bird's plumage is almost complete. Fledging occurs between 70 and 80 days after hatching, but the young remains dependent on the adults for another month, learning to hunt before migration.
Conservation Status of the Short-toed Snake Eagle
The Short-toed Snake Eagle is classified as "Least Concern" (LC - Least Concern) by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) globally (last assessed in 2021). Its European population is estimated between 6,900 and 10,500 pairs and is considered stable, even increasing locally since the end of the 20th century.
Despite this favorable global status, local threats and protection efforts are essential:
Legal Protection: It benefits from full protection in many countries and is listed in Annex I of the EU Birds Directive, as well as Annexes II of the Bern, Bonn, and Washington (CITES) Conventions.
Habitat Loss and Degradation: The closure of open environments (fallow land, garrigue) due to the abandonment of agricultural or pastoral activities, as well as deforestation or poor forest management, can reduce the availability of its reptile-rich hunting grounds. Climate warming also dries out environments, particularly in wintering areas.
Human Disturbance: Tourist or recreational activities and the construction of infrastructure (roads, pylons) near breeding sites can disturb nesting.
Collisions: Power lines and wind turbines can be causes of mortality.
Historical Persecution: Although less persecuted than other raptors due to its snake-based diet (considered "useful"), it suffered destruction in the past due to ignorance.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the Short-toed Snake Eagle
How to identify the Short-toed Snake Eagle?
The Short-toed Snake Eagle is a large raptor with very pale, almost white, underparts contrasting with brown upperparts and a darker head. It has broad wings and a tail barred with three dark bands. Its large yellow eyes and massive, owl-like head are also characteristic. In flight, it is often seen hovering or soaring with straight wings.
Where does the Short-toed Snake Eagle live?
The Short-toed Snake Eagle is a bird of warm and temperate climates, frequenting open woodland, clearings, garrigue, maquis, and medium-altitude mountainous areas. Its presence is dependent on the abundance of reptiles. It is a migratory species that winters in sub-Saharan Africa (Sahel region) and returns to Europe from March to September to breed.
What does the Short-toed Snake Eagle eat?
The Short-toed Snake Eagle is a highly specialized raptor, with its diet consisting of 90% reptiles, mainly snakes (colubrids, vipers). It may also consume lizards, amphibians, and, more rarely, small mammals or birds. Its long legs are protected by thick scales for capturing its prey.
Is the Short-toed Snake Eagle a 'white-headed eagle'?
No, despite its French common name 'Jean-le-Blanc' (meaning 'John the White') which refers to its pale underparts, this raptor is not a 'white-headed eagle' in the strict sense, like the African Fish Eagle or the Bald Eagle. Its head is typically brown.
