Genetic research has recently shown the Verreaux's eagle is included in a clade with its nearest relatives, the sister species Bonelli's eagle (A. fasciatus) and African hawk-eagle (A. spilogaster), as well as the golden eagle. More distantly related are the sister species pair, the wedge-tailed eagle (A. audax) and Gurney's eagle (A. gurneyi). Closely related to this clade are the Cassin's hawk-eagle (A. africanus). Some of the relationships within this group have long been suspected based on morphological similarities among the large-bodied species.Eagles, Hawks and Falcons of the World by Leslie Brown & Dean Amadon. The Wellfleet Press (1986), . The identification of the smaller, much paler-bellied A. fasciatus and A. spilogaster as members of the clade was a surprise, given that they were previously included in the genus Hieraaetus. Cassin's hawk-eagle has been assigned to both the Hieraaetus group and the Spizaetus/Nisaetus "hawk-eagle" group but is now known based on this genetic data to also nest within Aquila.
