Brown Snake-Eagle, South Africa by David Whited

Brown Snake-Eagle, South Africa

David Whited

Brown Snake-Eagle, South Africa

Digital photography

Inv: MM-1226

The Brown Snake-Eagle (*Circaetus cinereus*) is a large, powerfully built raptor found across sub-Saharan Africa, including much of South Africa's bushveld and savanna regions, instantly recognizable by its uniform dark chocolate-brown plumage, stark yellow eyes, and bare grey legs; true to its name, it's a specialist snake hunter, soaring or perching motionless for long periods before dropping onto prey — including venomous species like cobras and adders — which it kills with precise strikes to the head before swallowing whole, and it's typically seen as a solitary bird perched atop dead trees or utility poles scanning open ground for its next meal.