Buteogallus solitarius

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Ordo: Accipitriformes

Familia: Accipitridae
Subfamilia: Buteoninae
Genus: Buteogallus
Species: Buteogallus solitarius
Subspecies: B. s. sheffleri – B. s. solitarius
Name

Buteogallus solitarius (Tschudi, 1844)

Type locality: Río Chanchamayo, Junín, Peru.

Synonyms

Circaëtus solitarius (protonym)
Harpyhaliaetus solitarius

References

Tschudi, J. J. von 1844. Avium conspectus quae in Republica Peruana reperiuntur et pleraeque observatae vel collectae sunt in itinere. Archiv für Naturgeschichte 10 (1): 262-317. Nicholai'schen Buchhandlung. Berlin. BHL Reference page. : 264.

Vernacular names
العربية: عقاب جبلي منعزل
brezhoneg: Baou zigenvez
català: Àguila solitària
čeština: Harpyjovec černý
English: Solitary Eagle
Esperanto: Monta solaglo
español: Águila solitaria
suomi: Erakkohaukka
français: Buse solitaire
Nāhuatl: Tlīlcuāuhtli
Nederlands: Amerikaanse zwarte arend
polski: Harpijnik ciemny
русский: Чёрный орёл-отшельник
svenska: Eremitörn
Tiếng Việt: Đại bàng ẩn sĩ núi

The solitary eagle or montane solitary eagle (Buteogallus solitarius) is a large Neotropical eagle. It is also known as the black solitary eagle.
Range and habitat

The solitary eagle is native to Mexico and Central and South America. It is found in mountainous or hilly forests, at elevations between 600 m and 2,200 m. The frequent reports from lowlands are usually misidentifications of another species, usually the common black hawk or great black hawk; no reports from lowlands have been confirmed. It is rare that in all areas of its range and poorly known. Very little is known about its diet, other than that it appears to have often been predating large snakes and one adult pair was seen hunting deer fawns. The remains of a chachalaca were noted in one nest.
Description

The adult solitary eagle is uniformly dark gray, often appearing black, with white markings on the tail. It is 63 to 79 cm (25 to 31 in) and has a 152 to 188 cm (5 ft 0 in to 6 ft 2 in) wingspan.[3] With a body mass of approximately 3 kg (6.6 lb), it appears to rival its similarly-weighted sister species, the Chaco eagle, as the largest living member of the Buteoninae subfamily, although the black-chested buzzard-eagle is similar or only marginally smaller in weight.[4] It appears very similar to the common black hawk and great black hawk, but is much larger and has significantly broader wings, extending nearly to the tip of the tail. The exceptionally broad wings are one of the prime distinguishing characteristics of this species. Its body also has quite a thickset appearance.

The juvenile is mottled brown and tan, with markings around the eyes. It otherwise resembles the adult.
Relationships

Recent DNA studies have shown that the solitary eagle is closely related to the black-hawks.[5]
References

BirdLife International (2016). "Buteogallus solitarius". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016. IUCN: e.T22695849A93530532. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22695849A93530532.en. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
Gill F, D Donsker & P Rasmussen (Eds). 2020. IOC World Bird List (v10.2). doi : 10.14344/IOC.ML.10.2.
Howell, S. N., & Webb, S. (1995). A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and northern Central America. Oxford University Press.
Dunning, John B. Jr., ed. (2008). CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses (2nd ed.). CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-4200-6444-5.

Lerner, Heather R. L.; Klaver, Matthew C.; Mindell, David P. (April 2008). "Molecular Phylogenetics of the Buteonine Birds of Prey (Accipitridae)" (PDF). The Auk. 125 (2): 304–315. doi:10.1525/auk.2008.06161. Retrieved 8 November 2015.

Howell, Steve N.G., and Sophie Webb. "A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America." Oxford University Press, New York, 1995. (ISBN 0-19-854012-4)
Jones, H. Lee. Birds of Belize. University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas, 2003.
"Raptors of the World" by Ferguson-Lees, Christie, Franklin, Mead & Burton. Houghton Mifflin (2001), ISBN 0-618-12762-3.