Spizaetus

Taxobox
name = "Spizaetus"

---

image_caption = "Spizaetus tyrannus"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Accipitriformes
familia = Accipitridae
genus = "Spizaetus"
genus_authority = Vieillot, 1816
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision =
*"Spizaetus isidori"
*"Spizaetus melanoleucus"
*"Spizaetus ornatus"
*"Spizaetus tyrannus"and see text
synonyms ="Spizastur" Lesson, 1839Verify source|date=September 2008
"Oroaetus" Des Murs, 1845

"Spizaetus" is the typical hawk-eagle birds of prey genus found in the tropics of the Americas. It was however used to indicate a group of medium-large tropical eagles that included species occurring in southern and southeastern Asia and one representative of this genus in the rainforests of West Africa. The Old Word species have been separated into the genus "Nisaetus". [Helbig AJ, Kocum A, Seibold I & Braun MJ (2005) A multi-gene phylogeny of aquiline eagles (Aves: Accipitriformes) reveals extensive paraphyly at the genus level. Molecular phylogenetics and evolution 35(1):147-164 [http://www.vogelwarte.uni-greifswald.de/pdf/Aquiline_Eagles.pdf PDF] ] Several species have a prominent head crest.

The American Ornithologists' Union merges "Spizastur" into "Spizaetus" since 2007. [Banks "et al." (2007)]

"Spizaetus" eagles are forest birds with several species having a preference for highland woodlands. They build stick nests in trees. The sexes are similarly plumaged with typical raptor brown upperparts and pale underparts, but young birds are distinguishable from adults, often by a whiter head..

These eagles eat medium sized vertebrate prey such as mammals, birds and reptiles.

The species that were historically placed in this genus are:

New World species retained in "Spizaetus"
* Black Hawk-eagle, "Spizaetus tyrannus"
* Black-and-White Hawk-eagle, "Spizaetus melanoleucus" - traditionally "Spizastur"
* Ornate Hawk-eagle, "Spizaetus ornatus"
* Black-and-chestnut Eagle, "Spizaetus isidori" - traditionally "Oroaetus"

Old World species now moved to "Nisaetus"
* Changeable Hawk-eagle, "Nisaetus cirrhatus" (earlier "Spizaetus cirrhatus")
* Mountain Hawk-eagle, "Nisaetus nipalensis" (earlier "Spizaetus nipalensis")
** The Western Ghats and Sri Lankan race has been suggested as a full species "Nisaetus kelaarti". [Gjershaug, J. O.; Diserud, O. H.; Rasmussen, P. C. & Warakagoda, D. (2008) " [http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2008/f/zt01792p066.pdf An overlooked threatened species of eagle: Legge’s Hawk Eagle "Nisaetus kelaarti" (Aves: Accipitriformes)] " (PDF) "Zootaxa" 1792: 54–66 ]
* Blyth's Hawk-eagle, "Nisaetus alboniger" (earlier "Spizaetus alboniger")
* Javan Hawk-eagle, "Nisaetus bartelsi" (earlier "Spizaetus bartelsi")
* Sulawesi Hawk-eagle, "Nisaetus lanceolatus" (earlier "Spizaetus lanceolatus")
* (Northern) Philippine Hawk-eagle, "Nisaetus philippensis" (earlier "Spizaetus philippensis")
** Southern Philippine Hawk-eagle, "Nisaetus pinskeri" (earlier "Spizaetus (philippensis) pinskeri")
* Wallace's Hawk-eagle, "Nisaetus nanus" (earlier "Spizaetus nanus")Moved to "Aquila"
* Cassin's Hawk-eagle, "Aquila africana" (earlier "Spizaetus africanus")

Footnotes

References

* (2007): Forty-eighth Supplement to the American Ornithologists’ Union Check-List of North American Birds. "Auk" 124(3): 1109-1115. DOI:10.1642/0004-8038(2007)124 [1109:FSTTAO] 2.0.CO;2 [http://www.aou.org/checklist/suppl/AOU_checklist_suppl_48.pdf PDF fulltext]
* (1997): "A field guide to birds of The Gambia and Senegal". Pica Press, Nr. Robertsbridge (East Sussex). ISBN 1-873403-32-1
* (1991): "A guide to the birds of Trinidad and Tobago" (2nd edition). Comstock Publishing, Ithaca, N.Y.. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2
* (2005): Species or subspecies? The dilemma of taxonomic ranking of some South-East Asian hawk-eagles (genus "Spizaetus"). "Bird Conservation International" 15(1): 99–117. doi|10.1017/S0959270905000080 (HTML abstract)
* Haring E., Kvaloy, K., Gjershaug, J.-O., Rov, N., Gamauf A. (2007): Convergent evolution and paraphyly of the hawk-eagles of the genus "Spizaetus" (Aves, Accipitridae) - phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial markers. J. Zool. Syst. Evol. Research 45: 353-365. [http://www.nhm-wien.ac.at/Content.Node/forschung/1zoo/vogelsammlung/mitarbeiter/haring_et_al_jzser_2007.pdf PDF]
* (1999): "Birds of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives". Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.. ISBN 0-691-04910-6
* (2003): "Birds of Venezuela". Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
* (1989): "A guide to the birds of Costa Rica". Comistock, Ithaca. ISBN 0-8014-9600-4