Largest genus of eagles

The largest taxonomic genus of eagles is Aquila, housing the so-called true eagles, and currently containing 15 species. These include such familiar examples as the golden eagle A. chrysaetos of Eurasia and North America, the huge Australian wedge-tailed eagle A. audax, Africa's predominantly black-plumaged Verreaux's eagle A. verreauxii and the magnificent but highly endangered Spanish imperial eagle A. adalberti.

Some eagle researchers are supporting a taxonomy-based proposal to remove at least two of the three species of spotted eagle from this genus and reassign them to one or other of two related eagle genera, as well as removing Wahlberg's eagle A. wahlbergi and reassigning it to the fish eagle genus Haliaeetus. Yet even if these changes do occur, thus reducing the total number of Aquila species to 11 in number, this will still be the largest eagle genus.