| Circaetinae | |
|---|---|
 Short-toed Snake Eagle (Circaetus gallicus) | |
| Scientific Classification | |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Aves |
| Order | Accipitriformes |
| Family | Accipitridae Circaetinae |
Circaetinae is a subfamily of birds of prey which consists of a group of medium to large broad-winged species. These are mainly birds which specialise in feeding on snakes and other reptiles, which is the reason most are named as "snake-eagles" or "serpent-eagles". The exceptions are the bateleur, a more generalised hunter, and the Philippine eagle, which preys on mammals.
All but one of the subfamily are restricted to warmer parts of the Old World: Spilornis and Pithecophaga in south Asia, the others in Africa. The short-toed snake eagle (Circeatus gallicus) migrates between temperate Eurasia and Africa, as well as being resident in India.
They have hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs and powerful talons. They also have extremely keen eyesight to enable them to spot potential prey from a distance.
Species[]
Genus: Circaetus Beaudouin's Snake Eagle (Verreaux & Des Murs, 1862) (Circaetus beaudouini) Western Banded Snake Eagle (von Müller, 1851) (Circaetus cinerascens) Brown Snake Eagle (Vieillot, 1818) (Circaetus cinereus) Southern Banded Snake Eagle (Kaup, 1850) (Circaetus fasciolatus) Short-toed Snake Eagle (Gmelin, 1788) (Circaetus gallicus) Black-chested Snake Eagle (A. Smith, 1829) (Circaetus pectoralis) Genus: Dryotriorchis Congo Serpent Eagle (Schlegel, 1863) (Dryotriorchis spectabilis) Genus: Spilornis Crested Serpent Eagle (Latham, 1790) Spilornis cheela Central Nicobar serpent eagle, Spilornis (cheela) minimus Simeulie serpent eagle, Spilornis (cheela) abbottii Nias serpent eagle, Spilornis (cheela) asturinus Mentawai serpent eagle, Spilornis (cheela) sipora Natuna serpent eagle, Spilornis (cheela) natunensis Bawean serpent eagle, Spilornis (cheela) baweanus Ryukyu serpent eagle, Spilornis (cheela) perplexus Andaman Serpent Eagle (Blyth, 1863) (Spilornis elgini) Philippine Serpent Eagle (Vigors, 1831) (Spilornis holospilus) Mountain Serpent Eagle (Sclater, 1919) (Spilornis kinabaluensis) Great Nicobar Serpent Eagle (Richmond, 1902) (Spilornis klossi) Sulawesi Serpent Eagle (Gould, 1858) (Spilornis rufipectus) Genus: Eutriorchis Madagascan Serpent Eagle (Sharpe, 1875) (Eutriorchis astur) Genus Terathopius Bateleur (Daudin, 1800) (Terathopius ecaudatus) Genus: Pithecophaga Philippine Eagle (Ogilvie-Grant, 1897) (Pithecophaga jefferyi)