Adult Morphology:
The adult bird exhibits the following characteristics:
- Head: The forehead, cheeks, and a band above the eyes are white.
- Dorsal Surface: The back is generally dull brown. Long, lance-shaped feathers on the crown, nape, and neck have black streaks along the feather shafts. The longest scapular feathers are dark brown.
- Tail: The tail is gray-brown with white tips and three faint black bands.
- Wings: The innermost greater wing coverts are pale gray-brown, while the outer coverts are darker. Primary flight feathers are pale black-brown with white bases on the inner webs. Secondary flight feathers are white along the inner web margins and have faint black bars.
- Underparts: The chin, throat, and upper breast are dull brown with black feather shafts. The remaining belly is white with faint brown barring, often with very faint or absent barring in the center of the abdomen.
Juvenile Morphology:
Juveniles exhibit these features:
- Dorsal Surface: The back is paler.
- Head and Neck: The head and neck are nearly white, with faint gray streaks between the feathers and dark feather shafts.
- Underparts: The belly is white, tinged with varying amounts of brown-orange, with brown feather shafts.
- Eyes: The eyes are orange-yellow.
- Bill: The bill is pale blue-gray with a darker tip.
- Base of Bill: The base of the bill is pale white or pale gray.
- Legs: The legs are pale yellow or pale gray-brown.
Measurements:
- Wing (Male): 530 – 571 mm, (Female): 520 – 536 mm
- Tail (Male): 287 – 330 mm, (Female): 252 – 288 mm
- Tarsus: 92 – 97 mm
- Bill: 40 – 43 mm
Distribution:
The Short-toed Snake Eagle is distributed in Southern Europe, Northeastern Africa, India, Burma, Sri Lanka, Indochina, Malaysia, and China.
Vietnam: This species is rare, only recorded in Southern Vietnam and Pleiku.