# Short-toed snake eagle (*Circaetus gallicus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/short-toed-snake-eagle  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 1.66 kg – 1.77 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 1.66 m – 1.88 m |
| Lifespan | 17.3 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | woodland |
| Egg incubation | 46.5 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 |
| Age at maturity | 3 years – 3.49 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Lifestyle | Aerial |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Accipitriformes
- family: Accipitridae
- genus: Circaetus
- species: *Circaetus 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*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Short-toed snake eagle (Circaetus gallicus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/short-toed-snake-eagle