They 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.

They prey on reptiles, mainly snakes, but also take lizards and occasionally small mammals.

The genus Circaetus was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot to accommodate a single species, the short-toed snake eagle, which is therefore considered the type species.

[1][2] The genus name is from the Ancient Greek kirkos, a type of hawk, and aetos, "eagle".