Short-toed Snake-Eagle

SCI Name:  Circaetus gallicus
Protonym:  Falco gallicus Syst.Nat. 1 pt1 p.259
Taxonomy:  Accipitriformes / Accipitridae / Circaetus
Taxonomy Code:  shteag1
Type Locality:  France.
Author:  Gmelin, JF
Publish Year:  1788
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

CIRCAETUS
(Accipitridae; Ϯ Short-toed Eagle C. gallicus) Gr. κιρκος kirkos  type of hawk, here associated with the harrier; αετος aetos  eagle; like its congeners, commonly called snake eagles, the Short-toed Eagle has a flattened owl- or harrier-like face; "11. CIRCAËTE, Circaëtus.  Falco, Linn. Gm. Lath.  Bec presque droit à la base, convexe en dessus. — Cire un peu poilue. — Tarses alongés. —Doigts un peu courts; les extérieurs unis à l'origine par une membrane. —Ongles courts, presque égaux.   Esp. Jean-le-Blanc, Buff.  ...  Circaetus [κιρκος, circus,  αετος, aquila]." (Vieillot 1816); "Circaëtus Vieillot, Analyse, 1816, p. 23. Type, by monotypy, "Jean-le-Blanc" Buffon = Falco gallicus Gmelin." (Peters, 1931, I, p. 269). 
Var. Circaetos, Circaetes, Circaeetus, Circaeatus, Circaestus.
Synon. Melanaetus, Occipiter, Senex, Smithaetus.

gallicus
L. Gallicus of Gaul < Gallia Gaul, i.e. France.
● ex “Pygargus” of Jonston 1650, “Aquila Pygargus” of Brisson 1760, and “Jean le Blanc” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 413, and Latham 1781 (Circaetus).
● ex “Coure-vîte” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 795, and de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Cream-coloured Plover” of Latham 1785 (syn. Cursorius cursor).

SUBSPECIES

Short-toed Snake-Eagle (gallicus)
SCI Name: Circaetus gallicus gallicus
gallicus
L. Gallicus of Gaul < Gallia Gaul, i.e. France.
● ex “Pygargus” of Jonston 1650, “Aquila Pygargus” of Brisson 1760, and “Jean le Blanc” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 413, and Latham 1781 (Circaetus).
● ex “Coure-vîte” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 795, and de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Cream-coloured Plover” of Latham 1785 (syn. Cursorius cursor).

Short-toed Snake-Eagle (sacerdotis)
SCI Name: Circaetus gallicus sacerdotis
sacerdos / sacerdotis
L. sacerdos, sacerdotis  priest  < sacer, sacra  holy.
● Revd. George Brown (1835-1917) Scottish missionary to Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Solomon Is., Bismarck Archipelago and New Guinea (Ceyx).
● Revd. Fr. Erwin Schmutz (b. 1932) German missionary, naturalist, botanist, collector on Flores, Indonesia (subsp. Circaetus gallicus).
● TL. Phum Sambor, Cambodia (an ancient religious site, famed for its ruined Hindu temples and sanctuaries) (subsp. Pericrocotus cinnamomeus).