Whilst on this Snake-Eagle identification thread it was with considerable glee (on Saturday December 8) that we realized an eagle sitting motionless for nearly half an hour on a dead snag in a tall tree beside the Kikuletwa river at TPC Sugar Estate near Moshi was not a Southern Banded, but my first Tanzanian Western Banded Snake-Eagle (Circaetus cinerascens). There are some old historical records from north eastern Tanzania but very few recent ones.
I initially thought that bird was a Southern, for this species continues to survive within, or at least quite near to, the upper Pangani drainage system (of which the Kikuletwa is part). Consequently I encouraged my two companions: Caro and Fred North-Coombes to check the tail very carefully when the bird eventually took flight. However to my great surprise we agreed unanimously that there was in fact only one broad white tail mid-band and a very narrow pale terminal fringe.
There are no confirmed breeding records from East Africa. Also it has been suggested that some of the East African records of this species are of birds visiting from breeding areas outside the region. There is reportedly a peak in the August - February period which coincides with an apparent scarcity in areas further south e.g. Zimbabwe. Breeding takes place from January onwards in areas to the south of us. However with maybe an average of ten keen-ish birders in the field on any one day in e.g. the whole of Tanzania - what do we know - really?
Western Banded Snake-Eagle near Moshi, Tanzania
Whilst on this Snake-Eagle identification thread it was with considerable glee (on Saturday December 8) that we realized an eagle sitting motionless for nearly half an hour on a dead snag in a tall tree beside the Kikuletwa river at TPC Sugar Estate near Moshi was not a Southern Banded, but my first Tanzanian Western Banded Snake-Eagle (Circaetus cinerascens). There are some old historical records from north eastern Tanzania but very few recent ones.
I initially thought that bird was a Southern, for this species continues to survive within, or at least quite near to, the upper Pangani drainage system (of which the Kikuletwa is part). Consequently I encouraged my two companions: Caro and Fred North-Coombes to check the tail very carefully when the bird eventually took flight. However to my great surprise we agreed unanimously that there was in fact only one broad white tail mid-band and a very narrow pale terminal fringe.
There are no confirmed breeding records from East Africa. Also it has been suggested that some of the East African records of this species are of birds visiting from breeding areas outside the region. There is reportedly a peak in the August - February period which coincides with an apparent scarcity in areas further south e.g. Zimbabwe. Breeding takes place from January onwards in areas to the south of us. However with maybe an average of ten keen-ish birders in the field on any one day in e.g. the whole of Tanzania - what do we know - really?