CreatureData

Brown snake eagle

Circaetus cinereus Vieillot, 1818

LCLeast Concernbirds of prey

The brown snake eagle (Circaetus cinereus) is a species in the family Accipitridae, order Accipitriformes. Recorded adults weigh about 2.05 kg and live up to 6.8 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Brown snake eagle (Circaetus cinereus)
Photo: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the brown snake eagle

Weight
2.05 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
1.6 m – 1.85 msrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
6.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Carnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
shrublandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
52.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
1src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the brown snake eagle?

BROWN SNAKE EAGLE · WINGSPAN 1.85 MADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 1.85 m, the recorded maximum wingspan of the brown snake eagle is close to the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the brown snake eagle live?

Not recorded

What is the brown snake eagle?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The brown snake eagle (Circaetus cinereus) is a fairly large species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is found in West, East and southern Africa. This species is an almost obligate predator of a variety of snakes. A very solitary bird, the brown snake eagle has a prolonged breeding cycle and raises a single eaglet. Although probably naturally scarce, it is classified as a least concern species as it continues to occur over a very broad range.

From the Wikipedia article “Brown snake eagle” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brown_snake_eagle&oldid=1339950677), 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 brown snake eagle endangered?

The brown snake eagle is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the brown snake eagle classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderAccipitriformes
  5. familyAccipitridae
  6. genusCircaetus
  7. SpeciesCircaetus cinereus Vieillot, 1818

Synonyms Circaetus gallicus cinereus, Melanaetus cinereus

Other names and names in other languages (36)
  • Brown snake-eagleEnglish
  • BRSEEnglish
  • BruinslangarendAfrikaans
  • Skoulerer gellBreton
  • àguila serpera brunaCatalan
  • orlík hnědýCzech
  • eryr nadroedd gwinauWelsh
  • Mørk SlangeørnDanish
  • EinfarbschlangenadlerGerman
  • Einfarb-SchlangenadlerGerman
  • ΚαστανοκιρκαετόςGreek
  • bruna serpentagloEsperanto
  • Culebrera sombríaSpanish
  • tõmmu-madukotkasEstonian
  • ruskokäärmekotkaFinnish
  • Circaète brunFrench
  • Iolar donnIrish
  • mrki zmijarCroatian
  • barna kígyászölyvHungarian
  • Biancone brunoItalian
  • Aquila serpentariaItalian
  • チャイロチュウヒワシJapanese
  • rudasis gyvatėdisLithuanian
  • Bruine SlangenarendDutch
  • brunslangeørnNorwegian
  • gadożer brunatnyPolish
  • águia-cobreira-castanhaPortuguese
  • Бурый змееядRussian
  • hadiar tmavohnedýSlovak
  • Smeđi zmijarSerbian
  • brun ormörnSwedish
  • Kahverengi Yılan KartalıTurkish
  • seGodiTswana
  • змієїд бурийUkrainian
  • 棕短趾鵰Chinese
  • 褐短趾雕Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the brown snake eagle

Other species in the same genus Circaetus.

CompareBrown snake eagle vs Short-toed snake eagleBrown snake eagle vs Black-chested snake eagleBrown snake eagle vs Western banded snake eagleBrown snake eagle vs Southern banded snake eagle

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the brown snake eagle?

An adult brown snake eagle weighs 2.05 kg and has a wingspan of 1.6 m – 1.85 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the brown snake eagle endangered?

The brown 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 brown snake eagle live?

The brown snake eagle has a recorded lifespan of 6.8 years.

What kind of animal is the brown snake eagle?

The brown snake eagle (Circaetus cinereus) 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.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Brown snake eagle (Circaetus cinereus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-snake-eagle

MLA

“Brown snake eagle (Circaetus cinereus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-snake-eagle.

BibTeX
@misc{brown_snake_eagle_2026,
  title = {Brown snake eagle (Circaetus cinereus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-snake-eagle},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}