Haliaeetus leucocephalus subsp. leucocephalus
Creators: name: Schmitt, Stéphane
name: Gouraud, Christophe
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Aves
Accipitriformes
Accipitridae
Haliaeetus
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Haliaeetus leucocephalus leucocephalus (linnaeus, 1766)

description: 8. Buffon’s “Pygargue à tête blanche” (variety of the “Pygargue”)    8.1. Linnaeus (1758: 89): Variety β of “ Falco Albicilla ”  G41, S8, order “ Accipitres ”: see above (6.1).   
 REFERENCES. — Catesby (1731: 1, pl. 1), “ Aquila capite albo. Bald Eagle. Aigle à tête blanche”.   
 MODERN IDENTIFICATION. — * Haliaeetus leucocephalus leucocephalus (Linnaeus, 1766), according to Catesby’s plate and description. See Reveal (2015).   
  8.2. Brisson (1759a: 422-424, 1762: 25, 1763a: 122): “ AIGLE À TESTE BLANCHE ”, “  AQUILA LEUCOCEPHALOS  ” , species 2 of genus IX (“Aigle”, “ Aquila ”), order III, section 1.   
OBSERVATION. — Direct observation in Réaumur’s cabinet (unspecified origin).  
 REFERENCES. — Catesby (1731: 1, pl. 1); Linnaeus (1758: [89]), G41, S8 var. β.   
DISTRIBUTION. — Europe [sic] and North America.  
 MODERN IDENTIFICATION. — * Haliaeetus leucocephalus leucocephalus (Linnaeus, 1766). Brisson’s description clearly corresponds to this species and subspecies, which is thus correctly identified with Catesby’s “Bald Eagle”. It is unclear, however, why Brisson mentions Europe in the distribution: perhaps the specimen of Réaumur’s cabinet was wrongly labelled.   
  8.3. Linnaeus (1766: 124): Becomes a full species: “  FALCO LEUCOCEPHALUS  ”  G42, S3, order “ Accipitres ”.   
 REFERENCES. — Catesby (1731: 1, pl. 1); Brisson (1759a: 423).   
DISTRIBUTION. — Europe [sic] and North America.  
 MODERN IDENTIFICATION. — * Haliaeetus leucocephalus leucocephalus (Linnaeus, 1766); see the comments on Brisson. Linnaeus copies Brisson’s error as to the bird’s supposed presence in Europe.   
 MODERN NOMENCLATURE. — Falco leucocephalus Linnaeus, 1766 is an available and valid name, the protonym of the name currently in use for the species; type locality is “Carolina”, according to Peters (1931: 258), “ South Carolina ” according to Stresemann & Amadon (1979: 301), who all rely on Catesby.   
  8.4. Buffon in Buffon & Guéneau de Montbeillard (1771a: 99), quarto edition; (1771b: 78, PE 411), folio edition: “Pygargue à tête blanche” , variety of the “Pygargue” (see below 6.4).   
 PE 411. — “L’Aigle à tête blanche” (published in March 1770).   
OBSERVATION. — Direct observation, maybe specimen(s) from Réaumur’s cabinet.  
 REFERENCES. — Catesby (1731: 1, pl. 1); Brisson (1759a: 422).   
 IDENTIFICATIONS PROPOSED BY LATER AUTHORS FOR PE 411. — Boddaert (1783: 25): Brisson (1759a: 422); Linnaeus (1766: 124), G42, S3; Latham (1781: 33 no. 8), “Cinereous Eagle”, refers to Linnaeus’s “ Vultur albiulla ” [sic], to Brisson’s “Aigle à queue blanche”, and to Buffon’s “Grand pygargue”, but also to PE 411, which explains Boddaert’s mistake.   
 Kuhl (1820: 7): “ Falco Leucocephalus L. ”.   
 Temminck (1839: 3): “Aigle à tête blanche”, very old, but with the feet of an “aigle royal”; “ Falco leucocephalus Linn. ”   
 Gray (1849: 33): “ Haliaetus leucocephalus ”.   
 MODERN IDENTIFICATION. — * Haliaeetus leucocephalus leucocephalus (Linnaeus, 1766), on the PE 411 as well as in the text and in the mentioned sources (see the comments on Linnaeus (1758) and Brisson).   
  8.5. Gmelin (1788: 255): “  FALCO LEUCOCEPHALUS  ”  G42, S3, order “ Accipitres ”.   
 REFERENCES. —  Brisson (1759a: 423); Buffon & Guéneau de Montbeillard (1771a: 99) and PE 411 ; Catesby (1731: 1, pl. 1); Latham (1781: 29 no. 3), “Bald Eagle”; refers to Catesby’s “Bald Eagle”, Linnaeus’s “ Falco leucocephalus ”, Brisson’s “Aigle à tête blanche”, Buffon’s “Pygargue” and PE 411, and the Leverian collection; Pennant (1785: 196 no. 89), “White-headed Eagle”.   
DISTRIBUTION / HABITAT.— Europe [sic] and America, maple forests.  
 MODERN IDENTIFICATION. — * Haliaeetus leucocephalus leucocephalus (Linnaeus, 1766); see the comments on Linnaeus (1758), Brisson, and Buffon.
description: Published as part of Schmitt, Stéphane & Gouraud, Christophe, 2024, The significance of Buffon and Guéneau de Montbeillard's Histoire naturelle des oiseaux ([1765] - 1783) in the taxonomy of birds: General presentation and correspondence between Buffon's " eagles " and the species acknowledged by Linnaeus (1758, 1766), Brisson (1759 - 1762), and Gmelin (1788 - 1789), pp. 361-409 in Zoosystema 46 (16) on page 390, DOI: 10.5252/zoosystema2024v46a16, http://zenodo.org/record/12667134