Circaetus or snake eagles, is a genus of medium-sized birds of prey in the Accipitridae family. These are mainly resident African species, but the migratory short-toed snake eagle breeds from the Mediterranean basin into Russia, the Middle East and India, and winters in Sub-Saharan Africa and east to Indonesia. Snake eagles are found in open habitats like cultivated plains arid savanna, but require trees in which to build a stick nest. The single egg is incubated mainly or entirely by the female.