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Species › Birds

Short-toed Snake Eagle

Circaetus gallicus

Order
Accipitriformes
Family
Accipitridae
Presence in the Strait
Seasonal
Abundance
common
Protection in Spain
Special protection (List)
In Spanish
Culebrera europea

46% of its open observations in the area are from September.

Photograph: Vijay Vanaparthy, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length
62–67 cm
Wingspan
170–185 cm
Weight
1,700 g
050100150200LENGTH62–67 cmWINGSPAN170–185 cmcentimetres

Presence in the Strait

Common summer visitor (>29 pairs) associated with cork oak woods; scarcer in the West. Four records of wintering birds.

Identification

Medium-sized and pale. Closer up, rows of dark spots on underparts. Normally has a dark bib, but may be white. Broad head and large frontal eyes with yellow iris, almost owl-like. Only large bird of prey that often hovers in the air to locate its prey.

Movements

Migrant (>9,000 post. migr.) with peaks in 1st hf. March and 2nd hf. September.

Ring recoveries

Spain (2) and a chick ringed in “Los Alcornocales” Natural Park on 17.06.80 recovered in Morocco on 15.04.81 after wintering in Sub-Sahara Africa. Accipitridae Busardo Ratonero Busardo Moro Culebrera Europea

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Gallery

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.