Congo Snake-Eagle

This hawk is a medium-sized, slender species with short, rounded wings and a long, rounded tail. It is 54 to 60 centimeters (21 to 24 in) long, with the tail contributing 24.5 to 26.8 centimeters (9.6 to 10.6 in). The wingspan is 94 to 106 centimeters (37 to 42 in) across. The adult of the nominate subspecies, Dryotriorchis spectabilis spectabilis, has a blackish-brown crown and upper neck while the sides of the neck and a broad collar are a dark rufous-brown. The feathers on the top of the head are slightly pointed, giving this species a hint of a crest. The remaining upperparts are a dark chocolate brown. The cheeks are light brown while the throat is buffy white with streaks. The eyes are large and dark brown or grey in females and yellow in males while the beak is short but deep. It also has a black median streak. The bird's underparts are white with variable amounts of rufous wash and a number of large, round blackish spots. The serpent eagle's thighs are barred sepia-brown and white, while the undertail is white. The underwing is largely white with some black spots and brown coloration. The tail is light brown, with five to six broad black bars. The claws are short and sharp, while the legs are yellow. Sexes are similar, though the female averages about three percent larger than the male. …

The Congo serpent eagle lives in southern Sierra Leone and Guinea, Liberia, and southern Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. It is also found in southern Nigeria and the Central African Republic south through northern and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in the east and through Gabon into the northern Republic of the Congo in the west with an isolated population in northern Angola. C. s. spectabilis is found in upper Guinean forests from Liberia to northern Cameroon, while C. s. batesi is found in lower Guinean forests from southern Cameroon through Gabon and western Uganda. Its range covers 2,880,000 square kilometers (1,110,000 sq mi). The species lives in dense primary forest below 900 meters (3,000 ft) in elevation in the dark understory. As it is adapted for dense forest, it is not well-adapted for secondary forests and plantations. The Congo serpent eagle does not migrate, though it is unknown if it is locally nomadic.

Little is known about this species' behavior. The Congo serpent eagle lives in the understory of its habitat and occasionally perches on lower boughs in tall trees. It lives either alone or in pairs. This species is known to hunt snakes, lizards, especially chameleons, toads, and potentially small mammals. It hunts by dropping to the ground from its perch in the understory, where it may strike its prey repeatedly with its feet; this serpent eagle may also grab prey from the foliage while hunting. Its large eyes enable this species to hunt in low light, though it is diurnal. Studies on the species' eyes have shown that they have about two times the visual resolution of a human's. It may breed from October to December in Gabon and from June to November in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.