''Nisaetus'' (Crested hawk-eagles group) is a genus of subfamily Aquilinae found mainly in tropical
Asia. They were earlier placed within the genus ''
Spizaetus'' but molecular studies show that the Old World representatives were closer to the genus ''
Ictinaetus
The black eagle (''Ictinaetus malaiensis'') is a bird of prey. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae, and is the only member of the genus ''Ictinaetus''. They soar over forests in the hilly regions of tropical and subtropical South a ...
'' than to the New World ''Spizaetus'' (in the stricter sense). They are slender-bodied, medium-sized hawk-eagles with rounded wings, long feathered legs, barred wings, crests and usually adapted to forest habitats.
Taxonomy and species
These Old World species were formerly placed in the genus ''
Spizaetus''. They were moved to the resurrected genus ''Nisaetus'' based on the results of molecular genetic studies published in 2005 and 2007. The genus ''Nisaetus'' had been introduced in 1836 by the English naturalist
Brian Houghton Hodgson with the
mountain hawk-eagle as the
type species. The genus name ''Nisaetus'' combines the
Medieval Latin ''nisus'' for a sparrowhawk with the
Ancient Greek ''aetos'' meaning "eagle".
The genus contains ten species.
References
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{{Accipitriformes-stub