Black-chested snake eagle
Circaetus pectoralis A. Smith, 1829
The black-chested snake eagle (Circaetus pectoralis) is a species in the family Accipitridae, order Accipitriformes. Recorded adults weigh 1.5 kg to 1.77 kg and live up to 17.3 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
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Quick facts about the black-chested snake eagle
- Weight
- 1.5 kg – 1.77 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 1.6 m – 1.85 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 17.3 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- woodlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 46.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 3 years – 3.49 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the black-chested snake eagle?
Photos of the black-chested snake eagle
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the black-chested snake eagle live?
Not recorded
What is the black-chested snake eagle?
The black-chested snake eagle or black-breasted snake eagle (Circaetus pectoralis) is a large African bird of prey of the family Accipitridae. It resembles other snake eagles and was formerly considered conspecific with the short-toed and Beaudouin's snake eagles, to which it is closely related.
From the Wikipedia article “Black-chested snake eagle” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black-chested_snake_eagle&oldid=1314510729), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the black-chested snake eagle endangered?
The black-chested snake eagle is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the black-chested snake eagle classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAccipitriformes
- familyAccipitridae
- genusCircaetus
- SpeciesCircaetus pectoralis A. Smith, 1829
Synonyms Circaeetus pectoralis, Circaetus gallicus pectoralis, Circaetus rufulus, Falco thoracinus, Smithaetus pectoralis
Other names and names in other languages (40)
- BCSEEnglish
- Black-breasted snake eagleEnglish
- Black-breasted snake-eagleEnglish
- Black-chested snake-eagleEnglish
- SwartborsslangarendAfrikaans
- Swartbors-slangarendAfrikaans
- Skoulerer jave duBreton
- àguila serpera pitnegraCatalan
- Àguila serpentera pitnegraCatalan
- orlík tmavoprsýCzech
- Hvidbuget SlangeørnDanish
- SchwarzbrustschlangenadlerGerman
- Schwarzbrust-SchlangenadlerGerman
- nigrabrusta serpentagloEsperanto
- Culebrera pechinegraSpanish
- hulgu-madukotkasEstonian
- عقاب مارخور کاکلسیاهPersian
- savannikäärmekotkaFinnish
- Circaète à poitrine noireFrench
- Iolar broinndubhIrish
- crnoprsi zmijarCroatian
- feketemellű kígyászölyvHungarian
- Biancone pettoneroItalian
- Aquila serpentaria pettoneroItalian
- ムナグロチュウヒワシJapanese
- juodakrūtis gyvatėdisLithuanian
- ZwartborstslangenarendDutch
- svartbrystslangeørnNorwegian
- gadożer białobrzuchyPolish
- águia-cobreira-de-peito-pretoPortuguese
- Чёрный змееядRussian
- Черногрудый змееядRussian
- hadiar bielobruchýSlovak
- Crnogrudi zmijarSerbian
- svartbröstad ormörnSwedish
- Kara Göğüslü Yılan KartalıTurkish
- seGodiTswana
- змієїд чорноволийUkrainian
- 黑胸短趾雕Chinese
- 黑胸短趾鵰Chinese
Relatives of the black-chested snake eagle
Other species in the same genus Circaetus.
Short-toed snake eagle
Circaetus gallicus
Brown snake eagle
Circaetus cinereus
Western banded snake eagle
Circaetus cinerascens
Southern banded snake eagle
Circaetus fasciolatus
Beaudouin's snake eagle
Circaetus beaudouini
Congo serpent eagle
Circaetus spectabilis
CompareBlack-chested snake eagle vs Short-toed snake eagleBlack-chested snake eagle vs Brown snake eagleBlack-chested snake eagle vs Western banded snake eagleBlack-chested snake eagle vs Southern banded snake eagle
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the black-chested snake eagle?
An adult black-chested snake eagle weighs 1.5 kg – 1.77 kg and has a wingspan of 1.6 m – 1.85 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the black-chested snake eagle endangered?
The black-chested snake eagle is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the black-chested snake eagle live?
The black-chested snake eagle has a recorded lifespan of 17.3 years.
What kind of animal is the black-chested snake eagle?
The black-chested snake eagle (Circaetus pectoralis) belongs to the family Accipitridae in the order Accipitriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Black-chested snake eagle (Circaetus pectoralis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-chested-snake-eagle
“Black-chested snake eagle (Circaetus pectoralis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-chested-snake-eagle.
@misc{black_chested_snake_eagle_2026,
title = {Black-chested snake eagle (Circaetus pectoralis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-chested-snake-eagle},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}