Brown snake eagle

This species is distributed widely in Africa. In west Africa, ranges from southeastern Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, eastern and western Guinea, Sierra Leone, the northern, inland parts of Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria as well as inland in Mali and Niger. From there they range across to southern Chad, southern Sudan, South Sudan, inland in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia and central Ethiopia and in southern Somalia through much of Kenya, Uganda and the southern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo down through southern Africa to about half of Namibia, all of Botswana and Zimbabwe and northeastern and eastern South Africa. This species dwell in open woods and wooded savanna, most often preferring areas where gulley or wooded hillocks break up flat areas, apparently preferring somewhat more densely wooded areas than related snake eagles. This species may dwell at any elevation from sea level to high. == Description ==

in central Botswana , Bauchi, Nigeria Their plumage about the body is entirely a fairly dark, hazel brown, with some claims of a purplish sheen in certain light conditions. This species has a large head and bare legs, which serve to distinguish it from other brownish medium-sized eagles in Africa, although a juvenile bateleur could be confused with one in poor light, but its colour is more varying, its eyes brown and the species has a shorter tail and shorter legs. Known weights are between , with an average of around . Despite its fairly large size, this species has a relative small wing spread, being smaller winged than the bateleur and even the much lighter black-breasted snake eagle. The brown snake eagle's call is a hoarse, guttural ', usually uttered in territorial displays at conspecifics and sometimes culminating in a crowing '. Pairs also call a soft '''' probably as a contact call at the nest. ==Biology==

, South Africa The brown snake eagle is somewhat larger and more powerful than other snake eagles and consequently tends to take relatively larger prey. It seems virtually any reasonably sized snake, regardless of whether harmless or venomous is taken more or less indiscriminately. Like others in their subfamily, they have natural protection against bites, with thick-skinned legs. 3 out of 4 identified snake species recorded at a nest in Zimbabwe were venomous species, including boomslang, puff adder and black-necked spitting cobra. Most snakes taken here were decapitated before being brought to the nest. Large adult snakes were taken here, including a large puff adder weighing about . Even more impressive accounts are known of this species hunting adult black mambas, including specimens measuring up to at least . Like most birds of prey, the female largely takes on brooding and the male food deliveries. In this species, the male often arrives with a snake hanging from his mouth with only the tail extending from his throat, the female then pulls it out of his bill and throat, thereafter she tears the prey into appropriately sized bites for the single eaglet. The juvenile eagles stay around the nest for 60–100 days before exploring branches along the perimeter, until they fledge at 97-113 (mean of about 109) days. The juvenile brown snake eagle is completely independent a few weeks after fledging. Though the young eagle may continue to beg the adults, the parents soon lose interest in feeding the young eagle. Typical lifespan in this species is around 7–10 years, fairly short for an eagle. This species is somewhat scarce and is possibly declining overall per the IUCN but it is persisting fairly strongly over a large range, that includes 23.3 thousand square kilometers. It is therefore at least concern status for immediate conservation attention. ==References==