Steppe eagle, Aquila nipalensis, photographed at Ngorongoro Crater, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania, Africa.
Image: Dan Logen, 23 January 2010 [velociraptorize].
Question: This widespread and migratory Old World mystery bird species was once thought to be closely related to another, very similar, but nonmigratory species. Can you name this species and its congener?
Response: This is a steppe eagle, Aquila nipalensis, a large migratory accipiter that was once thought to be so closely related to the non-migratory tawny eagle, Aquila rapax, that the two forms were previously treated as conspecifics. The steppe eagle is larger and darker than the tawny eagle, which also lacks the steppe eagle's white throat. However, as with many birds, a closer look at their morphology and anatomy revealed pronounced differences. Those data, combined with two molecular DNA studies, suggest that these species are distinct. How closely related these two species actually are is still not resolved.
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