Aquila is thegenus oftrue eagles. The genus name isLatin for "eagle", possibly derived fromaquilus, "dark in colour".[1] It is often united with thesea eagles,buteos, and other more heavysetAccipitridae, but more recently they appear to be less distinct from the slendereraccipitrine hawks than previously believed.Eagles are not a natural group but denote essentially anybird of prey large enough to hunt sizeable (about 50 cm long or more overall)vertebrate prey.
The plumage of the more basal members of the booted-eagle group, such asSpizaetus andNisaetus, generally has barred underparts in adults, and is distinctly different in juveniles which have plain, pale underparts. In contrast, within theAquila–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 foundAquila andHieraaetus to bepolyphyletic. Between 2005 and 2014, theBritish Ornithologists' Union included both Bonelli's and the booted eagle inAquila. Also,Clements' Checklist merged allHieraetus species intoAquila from 2001 to 2009. The current approach is to keepHieraaetus as a separate genus, with Bonelli's eagle and the African hawk-eagle moved intoAquila andWahlberg's eagle moved intoHieraaetus.[6]
The spotted eaglesgreater spotted eagle,lesser spotted eagle, andIndian spotted eagle (previouslyAquila clanga,A. pomarina,A. (p.) hastata) are thought to be genetically closer toIctinaetus andLophoaetus than to otherAquila species, and may be placed into a separate genus,Clanga.[4]
Members ofAquila (excluding those moved toClanga andHieraaetus, but includingA. 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 inA. chrysaetos.[5]
Numerousfossiltaxa 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 intoAquila or thehawk-eagles (if the latter are indeed distinct) is unclear. Its initial name,"Aquila" minutaMilne-Edwards, 1871, is preoccupied by a junior synonym of thebooted eagle,A. minutaBrehm, 1831.
"Aquila" danana (Snake Creek Late Miocene/Early Pliocene ofLoup Fork, USA), occasionally placed inGeranoaetus orButeo, was a bird of prey of unclear relationships.
^Brisson, Mathurin Jacques (1760).Ornithologie, ou, Méthode Contenant la Division des Oiseaux en Ordres, Sections, Genres, Especes & leurs Variétés (in French and Latin). Paris: Jean-Baptiste Bauche.Vol. 1, p. 28,Vol. 1, p. 419.
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