Tawny and Steppe Eagles 2

	Theme Birds on Stamps by Kjell Scharning
	Theme Birds on Stamps by Kjell Scharning



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Tawny Eagle Aquila rapax and Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis, which is which?

The Tawny Eagle and the Steppe Eagle have until recently been treated as conspecific, as races of Aquila rapax. Source Wikipedia on Tawny Eagle and Steppe Eagle. This means that although the intention is to feature the Steppe Eagle, the inscription may be Aquila rapax. And a Tawny Eagle may have been chosen to illustrate the species.

Tawny Eagle, distribution
Breeds in most of Africa both north and south of the Sahara Desert and across tropical southwestern Asia to India.

Steppe Eagle, distribution
West-central Eurasia from Romania to South-West and South-central Russia. In central Asia from central-South Russia to Mongolia, western China and South-West Siberia. Winters in Near and Middle East, Arabia and East Africa.

If the purpose has been to present on stamp an eagle occurring in their country, it would be expected to find the Tawny Eagle Aquila rapax on the stamps from Algeria, Angola, Chad, Congo (K), French Afars & Issas, Ghana, Liberia, Senegal, South Africa, Spanish Sahara, Zaire. Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis would be on Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mongolia, Russia (USSR). Venda's intention was to present migratory birds, and this eagle should be Steppe Eagle.

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