In the past, people of the Hengchun peninsula in southern Taiwan called them "deer-pattern" eagles, because the white spots that speckle their bellies like snowflakes resemble the markings on the body of the Formosan sika deer.
過去南部恆春地方人士將牠們稱為「鹿紋」，因為牠們的灰色腹部下雪般散佈著白色斑點，好似梅花鹿身上的色斑。