Falco naevius J. F. Gmelin, 1788

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 : 388

5. Buffon’s “Petit Aigle” (full species)

5.1. Linnaeus (1758): not considered.

5.2. Brisson (1759a: 425-426, 1763a: 122-123): “ AIGLE TACHETÉ ”, “ AQUILA NAEVIA ”, species 4 of genus IX (“Aigle”, “ Aquila ”), order III, section 1.

OBSERVATION. — No direct observation. Description mainly borrowed from Aldrovandi.

REFERENCES. — Aldrovandi (1599: 214-215), “ Morphno congener ”, direct observation; Schwenckfeld (1603: 219), “ Aquila naevia ”; direct observation of a living bird captured in 1602; Jonston (1657: 4, pl. II), “Morphno congener”, based on Aldrovandi; Charleton (1668: 63 no. 6, 1677: 70 no. 6), based on Aldrovandi; Willughby (1676: 32, pl. 2), based on Aldrovandi; Ray (1713: 7 no. 7), based on Aldrovandi; Klein (1750: 41 no. 6), “ Aquila Clanga ”, direct observation of a living bird; Frisch (1733 -1763: pl. 71), “Stein-Adler oder Gänse-Aar, Buteo, Busart ”, direct observation.

DISTRIBUTION. — Europe.

MODERN IDENTIFICATION. — Sharpe (1874: 246) identifies Brisson’s “Aigle tacheté” with Gmelin’s “ Falco maculatus ” (which is mainly based on Latham’s “Spotted Eagle” and may possibly be * Clanga pomarina ), as well as with Brehm’s “ Aquila pomarina ”, that is, * Clanga pomarina (Brehm, 1831) . But the sources mentioned by Brisson are doubtful, although Aldrovandi and Klein claim they have directly observed the birds in question. Dresser (1871 -1881: 492-494) considers that Schwenckfeld’s “ Aquila naevia ” is a common buzzard, * Buteo buteo ( Linnaeus, 1758) . The plate 71 of Frisch represents an unidentified bird of prey (not a spotted eagle). Aldrovandi’s “ Morphno congener ”, which is the main source of Brisson’s description, seems to be * Clanga clanga (Pallas, 1811) (same size as a cock, dark rusty body with many white oval spots on the wings, etc.). Klein’s “ Aquila Clanga ” cannot be identified. See also Blanford (1894).

5.3. Linnaeus (1766): not considered.

5.4. Buffon in Buffon & Guéneau de Montbeillard (1771a: 91- 98), quarto edition; (1771b: 72-77), folio edition: “ PETIT AIGLE ”.

OBSERVATION. — No direct observation.

REFERENCES. — Aristotle (“ plangos ”, “ klangos ”, “ morphnos ”); Aldrovandi (1599: 214); Schwenckfeld (1603: 219); Frisch (1733 -1763: pl. 71); Klein (1750: 41 no. 6); Brisson (1759a: 425); several other sources, including travelers in Africa and the Middle East (Jean Chardin, Peter Kolb).

DISTRIBUTION. — Rare, but present “everywhere” in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as far as the Cape of Good Hope; absent in America.

MODERN IDENTIFICATION. — See the comments on Brisson (1759a). Buffon’s “Petit Aigle” is not identified; it may correspond to * Clanga pomarina (Brehm, 1831) as well as to other eagles, or even to other birds of prey. Buffon increases the confusion, on the one hand, by referring to Aristotle’s “ plangos ” or “ morphnos ” which was maybe * Aquila chrysaetos ( Linnaeus, 1758) , or * Aquila heliaca (Savigny, 1809) (see Arnott 2007: 285); on the other hand, by mentioning Asia and South Africa in addition to Europe (on the basis of the travelers’ accounts), which broadens the possibilities to several other species of the genus * Aquila , such as * A. nipalensis Hodgson, 1833 , or * A. rapax (Temminck, 1828) , or of other genera.

5.5. Gmelin (1788: 258): “ FALCO NAEVIUS ” G42, S49, order “ Accipitres ”. REFERENCES. — Brisson (1763a: 122); Buffon & Guéneau de Montbeillard (1771a: 91); Charleton (1668: 63 no. 6); Latham (1781: 37 no. 14), “Rough-footed Eagle”, based on Brisson’s “Aigle tacheté”, Buffon’s “Petit Aigle”, Frisch, pl. 71, and Charleton; Frisch (1733 -1763: pl. 71).

DISTRIBUTION. — Europe.

MODERN IDENTIFICATION. — Gmelin mentions Buffon but, like Brisson, he restricts the distribution to Europe: his “ Falco naevius ” thus corresponds to the same confusion of species as Brisson’s “Aigle tacheté”. Sharpe (1874: 246) mentions Gmelin’s “ Falco naevius ” in the synonymy of “ Aquila maculata ”, but he admits in a note that its identification is controversial.

MODERN NOMENCLATURE. — Falco naevius J. F. Gmelin, 1788 , is a nomen dubium.