Short-toed Snake Eagle

The short-toed snake eagle is a medium-sized bird of prey, 59–70 cm long with a wingspan of 162–195 cm and a weight of 1.2–2.3 kg, averaging about 1.7 kg. It can be recognised by its predominantly white underside, greyish-brown upperparts, a pale earthy-brown chin, throat and upper breast, a tail with three or four bars, an owl-like rounded head, brightly yellow eyes and a lightly barred underwing (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is an Old World species found through the Mediterranean basin, Russia, the Middle East and western Asia and in the Indian subcontinent. It needs trees for nesting and open habitats, such as cultivation and grassland, for foraging, and its prey is mostly reptiles, mainly snakes, but also some lizards. It favours soaring over hill slopes and hilltops on updraughts, and does much of its hunting from that position at heights up to 500 m. SoIB 2023 rates it a High conservation priority, with a rapid long-term decline of about 63%, a current decline of about 5% a year and a Very Large range (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).