Madagascar serpent eagle
| Madagascar serpent eagle | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Accipitriformes |
| Family: | Accipitridae |
| Subfamily: | Circaetinae |
| Genus: | Eutriorchis Sharpe, 1875 |
| Species: | E. astur
|
| Binomial name | |
| Eutriorchis astur Sharpe, 1875
| |
The Madagascar serpent eagle (Eutriorchis astur) is a species of
Description
The Madagascar serpent eagle is a medium-sized raptor with a long rounded tail and short rounded wings.
Distribution and habitat
This bird inhabits dense, humid, and broadleafed evergreen forests in northeastern and east-central Madagascar. It rarely ventures above 550 meters (1800 ft).[3]
Ecology and behavior
This serpent-eagle is diurnal. It eats lemurs both large and small, snakes, lizards, and frogs, which it hunts from high perches, swooping down from its perch and grasping its prey in its talons when it spots it.[3]
Conservation
This species was believed to be extinct, with the last confirmed sighting being from 1930.
This species is threatened by the destruction of its specialized habitat and a presumed low rate of reproduction.[3]
Etymology
The prefix eu- is Greek for "good". Triorchis is a Latinization (Pliny the Elder)[5] of Greek triórkhēs (τριόρχης), which Aristotle and Theophrastus used for a kind of hawk, possibly the common buzzard. The Greek word means "having three testicles".[6] This erroneous bit of anatomy has been connected with the ease of mistaking a bird's adrenal gland for a testicle.[7]
Astur is Latin for a kind of hawk.[8]
References
- ^ . Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-521-82502-3.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Madagascar Serpent Eagle". The Official World Wildlife Fund Guide to Extinct Species of Modern Times. Vol. 1. Beacham Publishing. 1997. pp. 13–14.
- ^ Raptors of the World By Ferguson Lees, Christie, David A.(2001)
- ^ Pliny the Elder, Historia Naturalis, Book 10, Chapters 9, 95, 96. English translation from the Perseus Digital Library. Both retrieved on Nov. 16, 2007.
- ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, retrieved 2007-11-15
- Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus
- Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1897), A Latin Dictionary, retrieved 2009-01-15
External links
