NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Brown Snake Eagle
Circaetus cinereus Vieillot, 1818
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The brown snake eagle (Circaetus cinereus) is a fairly large species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is found in West, East and southern Africa. This species is an almost obligate predator of a variety of snakes. A very solitary bird, the brown snake eagle has a prolonged breeding cycle and raises a single eaglet. Although probably naturally scarce, it is classified as a least concern species as it continues to occur over a very broad range.
Wikipedia contributors, Brown snake eagle; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:09:06.559091+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Circaetus cinereus Vieillot, 1818
- Name authority
- Vieillot, 1818
- Common name
- Brown Snake Eagle
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Accipitriformes
- Family
- Accipitridae
- Genus
- Circaetus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderAccipitriformes
- familyAccipitridae Vigors, 1824
- genusCircaetus Vieillot, 1816
- speciesCircaetus cinereus Vieillot, 1818
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Circaetus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Black-chested Snake EagleCircaetus pectoralis A. Smith, 1829 | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Western Banded Snake EagleCircaetus cinerascens J. W. Müller, 1851 | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Southern Banded Snake EagleCircaetus fasciolatus Kaup, 1847 | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Vieillot, & Louis Pierre. (1818). Oiseaux de Proie. Nouveau Dictionnaire d’Histoire Naturelle, Appliquée Aux Arts, À l’Agriculture, À l’Économie Rurale et Domestique, À La Médecine, Etc. Par Une Société de Naturalisted et d’Agriculteurs Nouvelle Édition, Vol. 23. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:VFS7. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.