Circaetus beaudouini
Beaudouin's Snake Eagle
A large snake eagle of the Sahel belt, with grey-brown upperparts and head/chest contrasting with white, brown-barred underparts. It hunts snakes and other reptiles over open savanna and farmland, occurring in a narrow band from Guinea-Bissau, Senegal and The Gambia east through the Sahel to South Sudan. Numbers have declined steeply across parts of its West African range.
Identification
Large, bright yellow eyes, black bill, long bare pale-grey legs typical of snake eagles; best separated from the scarcer Palearctic-migrant Short-toed Snake Eagle by darker, more uniform grey-brown chest and head.
Want to see the Beaudouin's Snake Eagle?
Join Yaya on a trip to one of the sites below, or ask about an itinerary built around it — he'll help you plan the best way to find it in the field.
Tours that target this bird
A comprehensive birding, wildlife and nature tour combining the finest habitats of The Gambia with Northern Senegal's Saloum Delta — coastal wetlands, mangroves, woodland, rice fields, savannah and riverine forest, plus a boat excursion to the Scissor-tailed Kite colony at Kousmar.
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