Southern banded snake-eagle

Description

The southern banded snake eagle,also known as the East African snake eagle or fasciated snake eagle (Circaetus fasciolatus) is a species of snake eagle in the family Accipitridae which is found in eastern Sub-Saharan Africa.The Southern banded snake eagle is a rather small,stocky snake eagle with a large,rounded head which has a hooded beak.It has a grey-brown head contrasting slightly with the mainly blackish-brown upperparts and whitish underparts.The tail has a white tip and shows three distinct dark bands on the underside.The large eyes are pale yellow eyes,the feet and cere are yellow and the bill us black.The juvenile lacks the grey head,has mainly dark upperparts and the whitish pale underparts are marked with dark streaks on the face,throat and upper breast.The total length varies from 55–60 cm with females larger than males.