Short-toed snake eagle
Circaetus gallicus (J. F. Gmelin, 1788)
The short-toed snake eagle (Circaetus gallicus) is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae and the order Accipitriformes. It is a medium-sized carnivore with an adult body mass of 1.7 kg and a wingspan of 1.77 m, with wingspan values from 1.66 m to 1.88 m.
Quick facts about the short-toed snake eagle
This migratory, aerial bird lives in woodland and has a geographic range of 12,700,000 km². It lays 1 egg per clutch and 1 clutch per year, with an incubation period of 46.5 days, and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 1.66 kg – 1.77 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 1.66 m – 1.88 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
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the short-toed snake eagle?
Photos of the short-toed snake eagle
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the short-toed snake eagle live?
Not recorded
What is the short-toed snake eagle?
The short-toed snake eagle (Circaetus gallicus), also known as the short-toed eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers. The genus name Circaetus is from the Ancient Greek kirkos, a type of hawk, and aetos, "eagle". The specific gallicus means "of Gallia".
From the Wikipedia article “Short-toed snake eagle” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Short-toed_snake_eagle&oldid=1381429786), 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.
What does the short-toed snake eagle sound like?
Is the short-toed snake eagle endangered?
The short-toed 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 short-toed snake eagle classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAccipitriformes
- familyAccipitridae
- genusCircaetus
- SpeciesCircaetus gallicus (J. F. Gmelin, 1788)
Synonyms Accipiter ferox, Aquila leucamphomma, Circaetis gallicus heptneri, Circaetos brachydactylus, Circaetus ferox, Circaetus gallicus ferox, Circaetus gallicus heptneri, Falco brachydactylus, Falco gallicus
Other names and names in other languages (94)
- Short-toed eagleEnglish
- Short-toed eagleEnglish
- Short-toed eagleEnglish
- Short-toed snake-eagleEnglish
- Short-toed snake-eagleEnglish
- STSEEnglish
- SwartborsslangarendAfrikaans
- عقاب صرارةArabic
- عقاب الثعابينArabic
- عقاب الحياتArabic
- عقاب ابو الحياتArabic
- عقاب الثعابين قصير الأصابعArabic
- aiglaAsturian
- Aigla CandeAsturian
- guzapónAsturian
- Adi ilanyeyənAzerbaijani
- Арол-вужаедBelarusian
- Арлан-вужаедBelarusian
- Орел змиярBulgarian
- Skoulerer-hañvBreton
- àguila marcencaCatalan
- Кӹшкӹ шӓлӓнгӹMari
- Ҫӗлен хурчкиChuvash
- orlík krátkoprstýCzech
- Eryr byrfysWelsh
- eryr nadroedd cyffredinWelsh
- SlangeørnDanish
- SchlangenadlerGerman
- ΦιδαετόςGreek
- Komuna serpentagloEsperanto
- ordinara serpentagloEsperanto
- Culebrera europeaSpanish
- madukotkasEstonian
- عقاب مارخورPersian
- käärmekotkaFinnish
- Aigle Jean-le-BlancFrench
- Circaète Jean-le-BlancFrench
- Iolar ladharghearrIrish
- Aguia albelaGalician
- Aguia cobreiraGalician
- Cobreira europeaGalician
- Urley mair-ghiareManx
- חויאיHebrew
- חיוויאי הנחשיםHebrew
- Orao zmijarCroatian
- kígyászölyvHungarian
- Արծիվ օձակերArmenian
- Elangular Jari-pendekIndonesian
- Elang-ular jari-pendekIndonesian
- SnákernaIcelandic
- BianconeItalian
- Aquila dei serpentiItalian
- チュウヒワシJapanese
- გველიჭამია არწივიGeorgian
- Жыланжегіш бүркітKazakh
- SchlaangenadlerLuxembourgish
- paprastasis gyvatėdisLithuanian
- GyvatėdisLithuanian
- čūskērglisLatvian
- Čūsku ērglisLatvian
- орел змијарMacedonian
- Орел-змијарMacedonian
- പാമ്പ് പരുന്ത്Malayalam
- Ajkla BajdaMaltese
- आखूड बोटांचा सर्पगरुडMarathi
- Helang UlarMalay
- SlangenarendDutch
- gadożer (zwyczajny)Polish
- GadożerPolish
- Águia-cobreira-comumPortuguese
- Águia-cobreiraPortuguese
- águia-cobreira-eurasiáticaPortuguese
- Evla alvaRomansh
- ŞerparRomanian
- ȘerparRomanian
- SerparulRomanian
- ЗмееядRussian
- КрачунRussian
- GearpmašgoaskinNorthern Sami
- hadiar krátkoprstýSlovak
- kačarSlovenian
- Shqiponja gjarpërngrënëseAlbanian
- ZmijarSerbian
- ЗмијарSerbian
- Orao zmijar - Орао змијарSerbian
- ormörnSwedish
- Onan Kothi KazhuguTamil
- เหยี่ยวนิ้วสั้นThai
- Yılan KartalıTurkish
- ЗмієїдUkrainian
- змієїд блакитноногийUkrainian
- Diều ngón ngắnVietnamese
- 短趾雕Chinese
- 短趾鵰Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the short-toed snake eagle
Other species in the same genus Circaetus.
Brown snake eagle
Circaetus cinereus
Black-chested snake eagle
Circaetus pectoralis
Western banded snake eagle
Circaetus cinerascens
Southern banded snake eagle
Circaetus fasciolatus
Beaudouin's snake eagle
Circaetus beaudouini
Congo serpent eagle
Circaetus spectabilis
CompareShort-toed snake eagle vs Brown snake eagleShort-toed snake eagle vs Black-chested snake eagleShort-toed snake eagle vs Western banded snake eagleShort-toed snake eagle vs Southern banded snake eagle
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
How big is the short-toed snake eagle?
The short-toed snake eagle has a wingspan of 1.77 m and an adult body mass of 1.7 kg. Our sources report wingspans from 1.66 m to 1.88 m.
What does the short-toed snake eagle eat?
The short-toed snake eagle is a carnivore.
Is the short-toed snake eagle endangered?
No. It is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the short-toed snake eagle live?
The short-toed snake eagle has a lifespan of 17.3 years.
How many eggs does the short-toed snake eagle lay?
It lays 1 egg per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. The egg incubation period is 46.5 days.
Is the short-toed snake eagle migratory?
Yes, the short-toed snake eagle is migratory. It lives in woodland.
Who named the short-toed snake eagle?
The short-toed snake eagle was named Circaetus gallicus by (J. F. Gmelin, 1788).
When does the short-toed snake eagle reach sexual maturity?
It reaches sexual maturity at 3.2 years, with reported values from 3.0 to 3.5 years.
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). Short-toed snake eagle (Circaetus gallicus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/short-toed-snake-eagle
“Short-toed snake eagle (Circaetus gallicus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/short-toed-snake-eagle.
@misc{short_toed_snake_eagle_2026,
title = {Short-toed snake eagle (Circaetus gallicus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/short-toed-snake-eagle},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}