Hieraaetus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||
|
H. ayresii |
The genus Hieraaetus, sometimes known as Hawk Eagles, is part of the Buteoninae subfamily of accipitrids. Hieraaetus comprises 3 species of medium-sized birds of prey inhabiting Africa and the tropical and subtropical regions of Eurasia. These are:
- Ayres' Hawk-eagle (Hieraaetus ayresii)
- Rufous-bellied Eagle (Hieraaetus kienerii)
- African Hawk Eagle (Hieraaetus spilogaster)
[edit] A note on taxonomy
The Booted Eagle (formerly Hieraaetus pennatus), Bonelli's Eagle (formerly H. fasciatus) and the Little Eagle (formerly H. morphnoides) have been determined by recent genetic research to be closer to the True Eagles of the genus Aquila rather than to their traditional group.
[edit] References
- Bunce, M., et al. (2005) Ancient DNA Provides New Insights into the Evolutionary History of New Zealand's Extinct Giant Eagle. PLoS Biol 3(1): e9 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0030009 HTML open-source article
- Collinson, M. Splitting headaches? Recent taxonomic changes affecting the British and Western Palaearctic lists - British Birds vol 99 (June 2006), 306-323.
- Lerner, H. R. L. and D. P. Mindell (2005) Phylogeny of eagles, Old World vultures, and other Accipitridae based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 37: 327-346. [1]
 |
This Falconiformes article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
