page_title: Aquilinae
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Aquilinae / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: African hawk eagle (Aquila spilogaster), Damaraland, Namibia
context_page_description: The Aquilinae are a subfamily of eagles of the family Accipitridae. The general common name used for members of this subfamily is "booted eagle", although this is also the common name of a member of the subfamily. At one point, this subfamily was considered inclusive with the Buteoninae based probably on some shared morphological characteristics. However, research on the DNA of the booted eagles has shown that they are a monophyletic group that probably have had millions of years of separation from other extant forms of accipitrid.
context_section_description: The Aquilinae consists of medium-sized to very large species. Modern species range in mass from the recently recognized pygmy eagle (Hieraaetus weiskei) of Papua New Guinea, which weighs about 500 g (1.1 lb) to the martial eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus) and golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), which both weigh about 4.2 kg (9.3 lb) on average. In wingspan, extant Aquilinae range from the pygmy eagle, with a median of 1.18 m (3 ft 10 in), to the wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax) and martial eagles, which average about 2.15 m (7 ft 1 in) and 2.12 m (6 ft 11 in) in wingspan, respectively. Total length can vary from 38 to 106 cm (15 to 42 in), in the pygmy and wedge-tailed eagles, respectively. The record sizes for wild booted eagles are 7.7 kg (17 lb) for a golden eagle in body mass and 2.84 m (9 ft 4 in) for a wedge-tailed eagle in wingspan. Dwarfing these species, the booted eagle species Haast's eagle (Harpagornis moorei) of New Zealand, was probably the most massive species ever known in the entire accipitrid family, with females averaging an estimated 10 to 14 kg (22 to 31 lb) and perhaps weighing up to 17 kg (37 lb), but went extinct by the 16th century when human colonizers killed off their prey. Beyond their typically large size, Aquilinae species have few outward shared characteristics as they are a fairly diverse subfamily. Nonetheless, every species shares the feature of their legs being covered in feathers. Only two buteonine hawks share this feature beyond the Aquilinae, in a presumed case of convergent evolution. Many species within the subfamily are colored for camouflage with varying patterns of brown, black, yellowish or white being commonplace, darker colors being favored by forest dwelling varieties and brown to straw coloring common to open country species. A few more brightly colored species (in adult plumage), with striking patterns of chestnut in about four, none more striking than the ornate hawk-eagle (Spizaetus ornatus).  Roughly half of booted eagle species have a strikingly different looking juvenile plumage, which can in some species be nearly all white, but even where the differences are subtle between adults and immatures, usually some physical differences are noticeable such as white wing patches in traditional Aquila species, to visually distinguish young from adults. Many species have a notable head-crest, such as Nisaetus and most Spizaetus, with the feature being most extreme in the long-crested eagle (Lophaetus occipitalis). Like most accipitrids, they have large powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs and powerful talons. Compared to other large raptors, the feet and talons of booted eagle species are often particularly large and powerful relative to their size. The most extreme example seems to be the crowned eagle, which has a hallux-claw (or rear talon) of around 56 mm (2.2 in) about the same sized hallux-claw as the Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) (not part of the Aquilinae), which weighs on average nearly twice as much.  The booted eagles also have extremely keen eyesight to enable them to spot potential prey from a distance.
caption: The formidable bearing and talons are evident on even modestly sized booted eagles such as African hawk eagles.
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