Circaetinae

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Snake eagles
Pithecophaga jefferyi front.jpg
Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Subfamily: Circaetinae
Blyth, 1851
Type genus
Circaetus
Vieillot, 1816
Genera

See text.

Circaetinae is a subfamily of the family Accipitridae which contains a group of medium to large broad-winged birds of prey. [1] [2] The group is sometimes treated as tribe Circaetini. [3] [4] These birds mainly specialise in feeding on snakes and other reptiles, which is the reason most are referred to as "snake-eagles" or "serpent-eagles". The exceptions are the bateleur, a more generalised hunter, and the Philippine eagle, which preys on mammals and birds.

Contents

All but one of the subfamily are restricted to warmer parts of the Old World: Spilornis and Pithecophaga in south Asia, the others in Africa. The short-toed eagle Circaetus gallicus migrates between temperate Eurasia and Africa, as well as being resident in India.

They have hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs and powerful talons. They also have extremely keen eyesight to enable them to spot potential prey from a distance.

Taxonomy

The subfamily Circaetinae was introduced in 1851 by the English zoologist Edward Blyth with Circaetus as the type genus. [5] [6]

The genus level cladogram of the Circaetinae shown below is based on a molecular phylogenetic study of the Accipitridae by Therese Catanach and collaborators that was published in 2024. [7]

Circaetinae

Spilornis – serpent eagles (6 species)

Pithecophaga – Philippine eagle

Terathopius – Bateleur

Circaetus – snake eagles (6 species) + Dryotriorchis spectabilis Congo serpent eagle

The following taxonomy is based on the International Ornithological Congress. [8]

ImageGenusLiving Species
Andaman Serpent Eagle Albin 1.jpg Spilornis G.R. Gray, 1840
Philippine eagle 2.jpg Pithecophaga Ogilvie-Grant, 1896
Brown snake eagle, Kruger National Park (38184851511).jpg Circaetus Vieillot, 1816
DryotriorchisSpectabilisSmit.jpg Dryotriorchis Shelley, 1874
BateleurKNP.JPG Terathopius Lesson, 1830
EutriorchisAsturKeulemans.jpg Eutriorchis Sharpe, 1875 [note 1]

Notes

  1. Eutriorchis is genetically related to Gypaetus, and so might be classified with the Gypaetinae rather than Circaetinae. Lerner, Heather R. L.; Mindell, David P. (9 May 2006). "Accipitridae". The Tree of Life Web Project.

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harrier (bird)</span> Genus of birds

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Accipitridae</span> Family of birds of prey

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<i>Accipiter</i> Genus of birds

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aegypiinae</span> Subfamily of birds

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buteoninae</span> Subfamily of birds

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Accipitrinae</span> Subfamily of birds

The Accipitrinae are the subfamily of the Accipitridae often known as the "true" hawks. The subfamily contains 73 species that are divided into 11 genera. It includes the genus Accipiter which formerly included many more species. The large genus was found to be non-monophyletic and was split into several new or resurrected genera. The birds in this subfamily are primarily woodland birds that hunt by sudden dashes from a concealed perch, with long tails, broad wings and high visual acuity facilitating this lifestyle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perninae</span> Subfamily of birds

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elaninae</span> Subfamily of birds

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Besra</span> Species of bird

The besra, also called the besra sparrowhawk, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It was formerly placed in the genus Accipiter. The name "besra" is from the Hindi word for the species.

<i>Milvus</i> Bird-of-prey genus containing certain Old World kites

Milvus is a genus of medium-sized birds of prey. The genus was erected by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1799 with the red kite as the type species. The name is the Latin word for the red kite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Levant sparrowhawk</span> Species of bird

The Levant sparrowhawk is a small bird of prey. It measures 32–38 cm (13–15 in) in length with a wingspan of 65–75 cm (26–30 in). The female is larger than the male, but the difference is not as marked as with Eurasian sparrowhawk. The adult male is blue-grey above, with dark wingtips, and barred reddish below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese sparrowhawk</span> Species of bird

The Chinese sparrowhawk (Tachyspiza soloensis) is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. This species was formerly placed in the genus Accipiter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey goshawk</span> Species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae

The grey goshawk is a strongly built, medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae that is found in eastern and northern Australia. The white morph of this species is known as the white goshawk. This species was formerly placed in the genus Accipiter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-thighed sparrowhawk</span> Species of bird

The red-thighed sparrowhawk, alternatively known as the red-legged sparrowhawk or western little sparrowhawk, is a species of sparrowhawk in the family Accipitridae from western and northern central Africa. This species was formerly placed in the genus Accipiter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-mantled goshawk</span> Species of bird

The black-mantled goshawk is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is found in the highlands of New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. This species was formerly placed in the genus Accipiter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquilinae</span> Subfamily of birds

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harpiinae</span> Subfamily of birds

The Harpiinae is a bird of prey subfamily which consists of large broad-winged species native to tropical forests. There are 4 genera in the subfamily, all monotypic.

<i>Lophospiza</i> Genus of birds

Lophospiza is a genus of Asian birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is the only genus in the subfamily Lophospizinae. The two species placed in this genus were formerly placed in the genus Accipiter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harpaginae</span> Subfamily of birds

Harpaginae is a subfamily of the bird of prey family Accipitridae. The species are found in Central and South America.

References

  1. Lerner, Heather R.L.; Mindell, David P. (2005). "Phylogeny of eagles, Old World vultures, and other Accipitridae based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 37 (2): 327–346. Bibcode:2005MolPE..37..327L. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.04.010. PMID   15925523.
  2. Mindell, David P.; Fuchs, Jérôme; Johnson, Jeff A. (2018). "Phylogeny, taxonomy, and geographic diversity of diurnal raptors: Falconiformes, Accipitriformes, and Cathartiformes". Birds of Prey. pp. 3–32. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-73745-4_1. ISBN   978-3-319-73744-7.
  3. Edward C., Dickinson; Remsen Jr., James V., eds. (2013). The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Vol. 1: Non-passerines (4th ed.). Aves Press.
  4. "ACCIPITRIDAE - Kites, Hawks and Eagles". Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  5. Blyth, Edward (1851). "Conspectus of the ornithology of India, Burma, and the Malayan Peninsular, inclusiveof Sindh, Asám, Ceylon, and the Nicobar Islands". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 19: 317–342 [317, 327].
  6. Bock, Walter J. (1994). History and Nomenclature of Avian Family-Group Names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. Vol. 222. New York: American Museum of Natural History. p. 132.
  7. Catanach, T.A.; Halley, M.R.; Pirro, S. (2024). "Enigmas no longer: using ultraconserved elements to place several unusual hawk taxa and address the non-monophyly of the genus Accipiter (Accipitriformes: Accipitridae)". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society: blae028. doi:10.1093/biolinnean/blae028.
  8. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (December 2023). "Hoatzin, New World vultures, Secretarybird, raptors". IOC World Bird List Version 14.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 3 April 2024.