Aquila Temporal range: Middle Miocene to present | |
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Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Accipitriformes |
Family: | Accipitridae |
Subfamily: | Aquilinae |
Genus: | Aquila Brisson, 1760 |
Type species | |
Aquila chrysaetos Linnaeus, 1758 | |
Synonyms | |
See text |
Aquila is the genus of true eagles. The genus name is Latin for "eagle", possibly derived from aquilus, "dark in colour". [1] It is often united with the sea eagles, buteos, and other more heavyset Accipitridae, but more recently they appear to be less distinct from the slenderer accipitrine hawks than previously believed. Eagles are not a natural group but denote essentially any bird of prey large enough to hunt sizeable (about 50 cm long or more overall) vertebrate prey.
The genus Aquila was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) as the type species. [2] [3] Aquila belongs to a close-knit group of "typical" eagles including genera Hieraaetus , Lophaetus , Ictinaetus and Clanga. This group occurs as a clade within the larger group of "booted" eagles (tribe Aquilini or subfamily Aquilinae). [4]
The plumage of the more basal members of the booted-eagle group, such as Spizaetus and Nisaetus , generally has barred underparts in adults, and is distinctly different in juveniles which have plain, pale underparts. In contrast, within the Aquila–Hieraaetus–Lophaetus clade, adults are generally dark, with juveniles more closely resembling the adults. Hieraaetus species have both dark and light (or "pied") morphs, with the latter having light, unbarred under-parts. [5]
Research in molecular genetics found Aquila and Hieraaetus to be polyphyletic. Between 2005 and 2014, the British Ornithologists' Union included both Bonelli's and the booted eagle in Aquila. Also, Clements' Checklist merged all Hieraetus species into Aquila from 2001 to 2009. The current approach is to keep Hieraaetus as a separate genus, with Bonelli's eagle and the African hawk-eagle moved into Aquila and Wahlberg's eagle moved into Hieraaetus. [6]
The spotted eagles greater spotted eagle, lesser spotted eagle, and Indian spotted eagle (previously Aquila clanga, A. pomarina, A. (p.) hastata) are thought to be genetically closer to Ictinaetus and Lophoaetus than to other Aquila species, and may be placed into a separate genus, Clanga . [4]
Members of Aquila (excluding those moved to Clanga and Hieraaetus, but including A. fasciata/spilogaster) share two deletions in the (nuclear) LDH gene, as well as similarities in mitochondrial cyt-B gene sequence, though one of these deletions is reverted in A. chrysaetos. [5]
The genus Aquila contains 11 species: [7]
Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
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Steppe eagle | Aquila nipalensis (Hodgson, 1833) | Romania east through the south Russian and Central Asian steppes to Mongolia | Size: Habitat: Diet: | EN
|
Tawny eagle | Aquila rapax (Temminck, 1828) | Africa both north and south of the Sahara Desert and across tropical southwestern Asia to India. | Size: Habitat: Diet: | VU
|
Spanish imperial eagle | Aquila adalberti C. L. Brehm, 1861 | central and south-west Spain and adjacent areas of Portugal, in the Iberian peninsula | Size: Habitat: Diet: | VU
|
Eastern imperial eagle | Aquila heliaca Savigny, 1809 | northeastern Africa and southern and eastern Asia | Size: Habitat: Diet: | VU
|
Wedge-tailed eagle | Aquila audax (Latham, 1801) | southern New Guinea, part of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
Golden eagle | Aquila chrysaetos (Linnaeus, 1758) | Eurasia and North America | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC
|
Cassin's hawk-eagle | Aquila africana (Cassin, 1865 [5] ) | West, central and marginally east Africa; from Sierra Leone east to western Uganda south through the Congo Basin to northern Angola | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC
|
Gurney's eagle | Aquila gurneyi Gray, 1860 | Moluccas to Irian Jaya and most of New Guinea | Size: Habitat: Diet: | NT |
Verreaux's eagle | Aquila verreauxii Lesson, 1830 | southern and eastern Africa (extending marginally into Chad), and very locally in West Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the southern Middle East. | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
Bonelli's eagle | Aquila fasciata (Vieillot, 1822) | southern Europe, Africa both north and south of the Sahara Desert and across the Middle East and South Asia to Indonesia | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC
|
African hawk-eagle | Aquila spilogaster (Bonaparte, 1850) | tropical Sub-Saharan Africa | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
Numerous fossil taxa of eagles have been described. [19] [20] Many have been moved to other genera, but several appear to be correctly assigned to this genus:
Whether "Hieraaetus" edwardsi (Middle -? Late Miocene of SW Europe) belongs into Aquila or the hawk-eagles (if the latter are indeed distinct) is unclear. Its initial name, "Aquila" minutaMilne-Edwards, 1871, is preoccupied by a junior synonym of the booted eagle, A. minutaBrehm, 1831.
Not placed in Aquila anymore are:
"Aquila" danana (Snake Creek Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Loup Fork, USA), occasionally placed in Geranoaetus or Buteo , was a bird of prey of unclear relationships.
Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus Aquila. Most of the 68 species of eagles are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just 14 species can be found—two in North America, nine in Central and South America, and three in Australia.
The Accipitridae is one of the three families within the order Accipitriformes, and is a family of small to large birds of prey with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-sized mammals, with a number feeding on carrion and a few feeding on fruit. The Accipitridae have a cosmopolitan distribution, being found on all the world's continents and a number of oceanic island groups. Some species are migratory. The family contains 255 species which are divided into 70 genera.
The golden eagle is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. These birds are dark brown, with lighter golden-brown plumage on their napes. Immature eagles of this species typically have white on the tail and often have white markings on the wings. Golden eagles use their agility and speed combined with powerful feet and large, sharp talons to hunt a variety of prey, mainly hares, rabbits, and marmots and other ground squirrels. Golden eagles maintain home ranges or territories that may be as large as 200 km2 (77 sq mi). They build large nests in cliffs and other high places to which they may return for several breeding years. Most breeding activities take place in the spring; they are monogamous and may remain together for several years or possibly for life. Females lay up to four eggs, and then incubate them for six weeks. Typically, one or two young survive to fledge in about three months. These juvenile golden eagles usually attain full independence in the fall, after which they wander widely until establishing a territory for themselves in four to five years.
Cathartidae, known commonly as New World vultures or condors, are a family of birds of prey consisting of seven extant species in five genera. It includes five extant vultures and two extant condors found in warm and temperate areas of the Americas. They are known as "New World" vultures to distinguish them from Old World vultures, with which the Cathartidae does not form a single clade despite the two being similar in appearance and behavior as a result of convergent evolution.
Buteo is a genus of medium to fairly large, wide-ranging raptors with a robust body and broad wings. In the Old World, members of this genus are called "buzzards", but "hawk" is used in the New World. As both terms are ambiguous, buteo is sometimes used instead, for example, by the Peregrine Fund.
Accipiter is a genus of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. With 49 recognized species it is the most diverse genus in its family. Most species are called goshawks or sparrowhawks, although with the exception of the American goshawk almost all New World species are simply known as "hawks". They can be anatomically distinguished from their relatives by the lack of a procoracoid foramen. Two small and aberrant species usually placed here do possess a large procoracoid foramen and are also distinct as regards DNA sequence. They may warrant separation in the old genus Hieraspiza.
The lesser spotted eagle is a large Eastern European bird of prey. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. The typical eagles are often united with the buteos, sea eagles, and other more heavy-set Accipitridae, but more recently it appears as if they are less distinct from the more slender accipitrine hawks than believed.
The booted eagle is a medium-sized mostly migratory bird of prey with a wide distribution in the Palearctic and southern Asia, wintering in the tropics of Africa and Asia, with a small, disjunct breeding population in south-western Africa. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae.
Wahlberg's eagle is a bird of prey that is native to sub-Saharan Africa, where it is a seasonal migrant in the woodlands and savannas. It is named after the Swedish naturalist Johan August Wahlberg. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae.
The rufous-bellied eagle or rufous-bellied hawk-eagle is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae that is found in the forested regions of tropical Asia. Relatively small for eagles and contrastingly patterned like a falcon, this species was earlier placed in the genus Hieraaetus and sometimes also in the genus Aquila but thought to be distinctive enough to belong to a separate genus.
Grus is a genus of large birds in the crane family.
The Indian spotted eagle is a large bird of prey native to South Asia. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. The typical eagles are often united with the buteos, sea eagles and other more heavyset Accipitridae, but more recently it appears as if they are less distinct from the more slender accipitrine hawks.
The genus Hieraaetus, sometimes known as small eagles or hawk-eagles, denotes a group of smallish eagles usually placed in the accipitrid subfamilies Buteoninae or Aquilinae.
The pygmy eagle or New Guinea hawk-eagle is a bird of prey found in New Guinea. Its natural habitats are primarily subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. It is the smallest species of eagle.
Cassin's hawk-eagle or Cassin's eagle, is a relatively small eagle in the family Accipitridae. Its feathered legs mark it as member of the Aquilinae or booted eagle subfamily. A forest-dependent species, it occurs in primary rainforests across western, central and (marginally) eastern Africa where it preys on birds and tree squirrels. It was named after John Cassin who first described it in 1865. Due to widespread habitat destruction, its populations are steadily declining but have not yet warranted upgrading its status from Least Concern.
Aquila bullockensis is an extinct species of large true eagles in the family Accipitridae. A. bullockensis is related to the living species A. audax to which it might be ancestral. The species is solely known from the distal end of a right humerus found in the Middle Miocene, Bullock Creek deposits in Australia. A. bullockensis is the oldest confirmed record of the genus Aquila in Australia, and possibly in the world.
The Aquilinae are a subfamily of eagles of the family Accipitridae. The general common name used for members of this subfamily is "booted eagle", although this is also the common name of a member of the subfamily. At one point, this subfamily was considered inclusive with the Buteoninae based probably on some shared morphological characteristics. However, research on the DNA of the booted eagles has shown that they are a monophyletic group that probably have had millions of years of separation from other extant forms of accipitrid.
Booted eagles are eagles that have fully feathered tarsi. That is, their legs are covered with feathers down to the feet. Most other accipitrids have bare lower legs, scaled rather than feathered.
Clanga is a genus which contains the spotted eagles. The genus name is from Ancient Greek klangos, "eagle".