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 more distant sister species pair, the wedge-tailed eagle ("A. audax") and Gurney's eagle ("A. gurneyi"). Closely related to this clade are the golden eagle and Cassin's hawk-eagle. Some of the relationships within this group have long been suspected based on morphological similarities among the large-bodied species. 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".