Black-breasted Snake Eagle
Circaetus pectoralis
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderAccipitriformes
- FamilyAccipitridae (Accipítrids)
- GenusCircaetus (Snake-Eagles)
- SpeciesCircaetus pectoralis (Black-breasted Snake Eagle)
The black-chested snake eagle or black-breasted snake eagle (Circaetus pectoralis) is a large African bird of prey of the family Accipitridae. It resembles other snake eagles and was formerly considered conspecific with the short-toed and Beaudouin's snake eagles, to which it is closely related. Wikipedia →
5–10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-breasted Snake Eagle sighting in Selous Game Reserve, based on 5 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Selous Game Reserve
African Fish-Eagle
Haliaeetus vocifer
African Harrier-Hawk
Polyboroides typus
Palmnut Vulture
Gypohierax angolensis
Bateleur
Terathopius ecaudatus
White-backed Vulture
Gyps africanus
Gabar Goshawk
Micronisus gabar
Wahlberg's Eagle
Hieraaetus wahlbergi
Lappet-faced Vulture
Torgos tracheliotos
European Honey-buzzard
Pernis apivorus
African Hawk-Eagle
Aquila spilogaster
Martial Eagle
Polemaetus bellicosus
Augur Buzzard
Buteo augur
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Black-breasted Snake Eagle in Selous Game Reserve?
About 9% of wildlife watchers report a Black-breasted Snake Eagle sighting in Selous Game Reserve, based on 5 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Black-breasted Snake Eagle in Selous Game Reserve?
October has the highest sighting rate for Black-breasted Snake Eagle in Selous Game Reserve in our monthly data.