Falco chrysaetos Linnaeus, 1758

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), Zoosystema 46 (16), pp. 361-409 : 384-385

2. Buffon’s “Grand Aigle” (full Species)

2.1. Linnaeus (1758: 88): “ FALCO CHRYSAËTOS ” G41, S2, order “ Accipitres ”.

REFERENCES. — Linnaeus (1746: [18-19] no. 56), “ Falco cera lutea ; pedibus lanatis ; corpore rufo ”, based on direct observation in Sweden, and reference to the “ Aquila germana ” of Gessner, and to the “ Chrysaetos ” of Jonston, Willughby, and Ray; Willughby (1676: 27, pl. I), “ Chrysaëtos ”, based on Aldrovandi; Ray (1713: 6 no. 1), idem; Aldrovandi (1599: [110]), “[ Aquila ] Chrysaetus ”, direct observation.

DISTRIBUTION. — Europe.

MODERN IDENTIFICATION. — Linnaeus’s diagnosis and his more precise firsthand description in the Fauna Svecica ( Linnaeus 1746: 18-19) correspond to * Aquila chrysaetos ( Linnaeus, 1758) . The birds he observed himself in Sweden belonged more precisely to the subspecies * Aquila chrysaetos chrysaetos ( Linnaeus, 1758) . The mentioned sources (which all rely, in the final analysis, on Aldrovandi, and, via the Fauna Svecica, on Gessner) refer to the post-Antiquity tradition of natural history, as updated with new observations. They mainly describe * Aquila chrysaetos , probably confused in some cases with other eagles from Europe and the Mediterranean Basin, or perhaps with other birds of prey.

MODERN NOMENCLATURE. — Falco chrysaetos Linnaeus, 1758 is an available and valid name, the protonym of the name currently in use for the species; “restricted type locality, Sweden ex Fn. Suec.” according to Peters (1931: 253), who relies on Linnaeus (1761: 19).

2.2. Brisson (1759a: 431-434, 1762: 25-26, 1763a: 124-125): “ AIGLE DORÉ ”, “ CHRYSAETOS, SEU AQUILA AUREA ”, species 7 of genus IX (“Aigle”, “ Aquila ”), order III, section 1.

REMARK. — This case shows that Brisson’s nomenclature is very different from the Linnaean binomial system, even in Latin, since it uses alternative names for one species ( “ Chrysaetos or Aquila aurea ”) as well as specific uninomials different from the corresponding generic name ( “ Chrysaetos ” belongs to the genus “ Aquila ”).

OBSERVATION. — Direct observation in Réaumur’s cabinet (unspecified origin).

REFERENCES. — Belon (1555: 89, 91), “Grand Aigle Royal de couleur fauve”; Belon (1557: 11 ro., 12 ro.), “Grand Aigle Royal” and “Aigle”; Gessner (1560: 3), “ Aquila ”; Gessner (1585: 168), “ Aquila germana ”; Aldrovandi (1599: 110-115); Schwenckfeld (1603: 214), “ Aquila regalis ”; Jonston (1657: 2, pl. I, V), “ Aquila, Chrysaetos ”, plates borrowed from Gessner and Belon; Charleton (1668: 62 no. 1, 1677: 70 no. 1), “ Aquila . Chrysaetos ”; Willughby (1676: 27, pl. I); Sibbald (1684: 14), “ Chrysaëtos ” (in a list of Scottish birds); Ray (1713: 6 no. 1); Rzączyński (1745: 359), “ Aquila Chrysaetos ”; Barrère (1745: 28), “ Aquila Pyrenaica ”; Linnaeus (1746: [18] no. 56); Linnaeus (1748: [17]), G36, S4 (“ Chrysaethos ” in genus “ Falco ”); Albin (1750: 1, pl. 1), “Aigle”; Klein (1750: 40 no. 1), “ Aquila Chrysaetos ”; Linnaeus (1758: [88]), G41, S2.

DISTRIBUTION. — Europe, common in Germany.

MODERN IDENTIFICATION. — * Aquila chrysaetos ( Linnaeus, 1758) , doubtless * A. c. chrysaetos ( Linnaeus, 1758) , according to the description. Most of the mentioned references correspond to that subspecies, with the same reservations as for Linnaeus’s “ Falco Chrysaëtos ”. Among the mentioned sources by Brisson and not by Linnaeus, some correspond to * Aquila chrysaetos , other to various birds of prey more or less identified; in particular, many authors refer to the “ aetos gnêsios ” of Aristotle, which was probably a vulture (see Arnott 2007: 87).

2.3. Linnaeus (1766: 125): “ FALCO CHRYSAËTOS ” G42, S5, order “ Accipitres ”.

REFERENCES. — Linnaeus (1761: [19] no. 54), “ Falco Chrysaëtos ” (direct observation, and ref. to Linnaeus 1746, Willughby, and Ray); Gessner (1585: 168); Willughby (1676: 27, pl. I); Ray (1713: 6 no. 1); Aldrovandi (1599: 111, 114-115); Brisson (1759a: 431).

DISTRIBUTION. — Europe.

MODERN IDENTIFICATION. — * Aquila chrysaetos chrysaetos ( Linnaeus, 1758) ; see the comments on Linnaeus (1758) and Brisson.

2.4. Buffon in Buffon & Guéneau de Montbeillard (1771a: 76- 85, pl. I), quarto edition; (1771b: 60-67, PE 410), folio edition: “ GRAND AIGLE ”.

PLATE I. — “Le grand Aigle”.

PE 410. — “Le Grand Aigle ou l’Aigle royal” (published in March 1770).

OBSERVATION. — Direct observation, maybe specimen(s) from Réaumur’s cabinet.

REFERENCES. — Aristotle (“ aetos gnêsios ”); “Oppien” = Aelianus (“ khrusaetos ”); Belon (1555: 89); Gessner (1585: 169), “ Aquila germana ”; Aldrovandi (1599: 110); Brisson (1759a: 431); Pennant (1766: 61, pl. A), “Golden Eagle”; Salerne (1767: 4), “Grand Aigle Royal”; many other sources, including ancient authors and early modern travelers.

DISTRIBUTION / HABITAT.— Greece, France (esp. the mountains of Bugey), Pyrenees; Germany (esp. Silesia), forests of Dantzig (Gdansk), Carpatian Mountains, mountains of Ireland, Asia Minor, Persia, Arabia, “several provinces of Africa and Asia up to Tartary” (but not Siberia nor the rest of Northern Asia); “hot and temperate countries of the Old World”.

IDENTIFICATIONS PROPOSED BY LATER AUTHORS FOR PE 410. — Boddaert (1783: 25): Brisson (1759a: 431); Linnaeus (1766: 125), G42, S5; Latham (1781: 31 no. 5), “Golden Eagle”; Latham refers to Linnaeus’s “ Falco Chrysaetos ”, Brisson’s “Aigle doré”, Buffon’s “Grand Aigle”, the PE 410, etc., and the Leverian collection.

Kuhl (1820: 7): “ Falco fulvus L.”, female.

Temminck (1839: 3): “Aigle royal”, middle age; “ Falco fulvus . Linn.” Gray (1849: 33): “ Aquila chrysaetos ”.

MODERN IDENTIFICATION. — * Aquila chrysaetos ( Linnaeus, 1758) , according to the plates (PE 410 and pl. I of De Sève) and the text; the specimen on PE 410 seems to be an adult. It is difficult to determine the subspecies with certainty, especially since Buffon admits a large distribution. It is probable, however, that he observed one or many specimens of the subspecies * A. c. chrysaetos ( Linnaeus, 1758) ; in any case, the subspecies * A. chrysaetos japonica Severtsov, 1888 , * A. chrysaetos canadensis ( Linnaeus, 1758) , and * A. chrysaetos kamtschatica Severtsov, 1888 can be excluded. As regards the mentioned sources, see the comments on Linnaeus (1758) and Brisson (1759a). Some of the references added by Buffon (not least the Ancients and the travelers) may correspond to other subspecies, or even to other species.

2.5. Gmelin (1788: 256): “ FALCO CHRYSAËTOS ” G42, S5, order “ Accipitres ”. REFERENCES. — Linnaeus (1761: [19] no. 54); Brisson (1759a: 431); Gessner (1585: 168); Ray (1713: 6 no. 1); Aldrovandi (1599: 111, 114, 115); Buffon & Guéneau de Montbeillard (1771a: 76) and PE 410; Pennant (1776: 161 [no. 42], pl. 16), “Golden Eagle”; Albin (1750: 1, pl. 1); Willughby (1678: 58, pl. I), “Golden Eagle, Chysaetos [sic]”; Latham (1781: 31 no. 5), based on Linnaeus, Brisson, Buffon, etc., and the Leverian collection.

DISTRIBUTION / HABITAT.— Europe, “Ural deserts of Siberia”.

MODERN IDENTIFICATION. — * Aquila chrysaetos ( Linnaeus, 1758) ; see the comments on Linnaeus (1758), Brisson, and Buffon. Identification of the subspecies not possible since Gmelin admits a large distribution, but * A. chrysaetos daphanea Severtsov, 1888 , * A. chrysaetos japonica , * A. chrysaetos canadensis , and probably * A. chrysaetos homeyeri Severtsov, 1888 can be excluded.