Congo Serpent Eagle (Circaetus spectabilis)
About the Congo Serpent Eagle
The Congo serpent eagle (Circaetus spectabilis) is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. This species is distributed across the African tropical rainforest, including upper and lower Guinean forests. This serpent eagle specializes in hunting in these forests' dark understories. It has two subspecies, the nominate subspecies Circaetus spectabilis spectabilis and Circaetus spectabilis batesi. This hawk is a medium-sized bird with distinctive short, rounded wings and a long, rounded tail. It is varying shades of brown on its back and has a slight crest. Its breast is white with variable amounts of a rufous wash and, in the nominate subspecies, is covered in round, blackish spots. The subspecies C. s. batesi only has these dots on its flanks. The Congo serpent eagle closely resembles Cassin's hawk-eagle, and some ornithologists believe that this likeness is a rare example of avian mimicry. It is a very vocal raptor, and often is one of the most heard species in its habitat.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 13 recordings for this species: 1 CC BY-NC-SA. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in Gabon, Ghana in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Related species you can hear
- Short-toed Snake EagleCircaetus gallicusrecording
This species has no recording here yet — these relatives do, so you can hear what the family sounds like.