Fasciated snake-eagle
Fasciated Snake-eagle | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom Information | |
Domain | Eukaryota |
Kingdom | Animalia |
Subkingdom | Bilateria |
Branch | Deuterostomia |
Phylum Information | |
Phylum | Chordata |
Sub-phylum | Vertebrata |
Infraphylum | Gnathostomata |
Class Information | |
Superclass | Tetrapoda |
Class | Aves |
Sub-class | Neornithes |
Infra-class | Neoaves |
Order Information | |
Superorder | Passerimorphae |
Order | Accipitriformes |
Infraorder | Falconides |
Family Information | |
Family | Accipitridae |
Sub-family | Circaetinae |
Genus Information | |
Genus | Circaetus |
Species Information | |
Species | C. fasciolatus |
Population statistics | |
Population | 3,000 est (2008) |
Conservation status | Near-threatened[1] |
The fasciated snake-eagle or southern banded snake-eagle (Circaetus fasciolatus) is a small eagle found in parts of southern and eastern Africa.
Description
Fasciated snake-eagles are small, no more than two feet in length. It is dark brown above, with reddish-brown to rufus-brown underparts, barred white below the breast. The tail is long, and bears three white bars. The face is rather greyish, with a yellow cere. Juvenile birds are similar, but with white underparts streaked in black.
Threats
Fasciated snake-eagles are found in southern Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique to north-eastern South Africa; the Save River in Mozambique allows them to inhabit south-eastern Zimbabwe. Discounting the Save, the areas in which they live are no more than 16 miles from the coast, and man has made inroads into the coastal forested areas, particularly along rivers where lumber has been extracted for use as timber, electrical and telephone poles, firewood, and charcoal. It is suspected to have disappeared from these areas in Mozambique between the Save and Limpopo rivers. The total population within South Africa may be no more than 50 pairs.