Little Eagle

Taxobox
name = Little Eagle

---

status = LC
status_system = iucn3.1
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Falconiformes
familia = Accipitridae
genus = "Aquila"
species = "A. morphnoides"
binomial = "Aquila morphnoides"
binomial_authority = (Gould, 1841)
synonyms=
*"Hieraaetus morphnoides"The Little Eagle ("Aquila morphnoides") is a very small eagle native to Australasia, measuring 45-55 cm (17-21.5 inches) in length and weighing 815 g (1.8 lb) - roughly the size of a Peregrine Falcon. It tends to inhabit open woodland, grassland and arid regions, shunning dense forest. It is a near relative of both the Palearctic Booted Eagle and, remarkably, the massive (but now extinct) Haast's Eagle of New Zealand.

References

* Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern.
* 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 [http://biology.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.0030009 HTML open-source article]
* 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. [http://www-personal.umich.edu/~hlerner/LernerMindell2005Proofs.pdf PDF document]