632 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVI. 



Measurements. 



Habits, etc. 



The secondaries are white for about half their length, 

 making a conspicuous patch in the centre of each wing, 

 when the bird flies, and the tail is white, fhiely mottled, 

 for about two -thirds of its length. The tail coverts, 

 bend of wing and flanks similar to that in old birds. 

 Bill dark horny, tip black ; irides hazal broAvn ; cere 

 and feet bright yellow. 



Length from 35" to 40" ; tail 13" to 14" ; wing 25" 

 to 271"; tarsus 4"; hind claw 2|" to Z\" ; expanse 

 about 7 ft. 



The Golden Eagle is probably the least AveU known 

 of all eagles, since it seldom, one might almost say 

 never, visits the vicinity of even a hill station, except 

 perhaps in the depths of winter, and then even rarely. 

 It is, however, by no means so uncommon as people 

 imagine, among the inner ranges of the Himalaya, 

 and most of the big nallahs can boast of a pair of these 

 fine birds. In his " Rough Notes " Mr. Hume says : 

 "As far as I yet know, this bird is of such excessive 

 rarity in the Himalayas, south of the snows, as scarcely 

 to deserve a place in our list." 



He says again, " every so called Golden Eagle which 

 has, as yet, been sent me, has proved to be " A. imp- 

 erialis in the dark third stage of plumage." 



Mr. Hume had, at Kotgarh (in the Simla District), 

 " a regular establishment for shooting and jireserving 

 birds ", from whom he received over a thousand birds, 

 and who had special injunctions to shoot all large 

 eagles. From them he received several Imperial 

 Eagles but not one single Golden, and though he 

 quotes Dr. Stolickza as saying, this species "is 

 often seen about Kotgarh and further east ", he is 

 obviously sceptical. Why this should be I cannot 

 think, unless Mr. Hume has himself gone off the 

 rails and mistaken the Golden for an Imperial 

 yet this seems hard to believe in a man who so closely 

 observed birds in the field. I have never seen the 

 bird actually in Kotgarh, but have found him more 

 than once near Narkandah, and have taken a nest 

 within four miles of Baghi, on the upper Hindustan 

 Thibet Road. The nest contained a single yoimgster 

 which I took and reared. Further East, I found a 

 nest in the cliffs near Moonsh within 6 miles of Daran- 

 ghatti, also on the H. T. Road. Another nest also 

 with a half fledged youngster, was taken by me at 

 Shoang, a few miles S. E. of Kilba, and I can safely 

 say, that the Golden Eagle is to be met with right along 

 the Sutlej watershed, from Kotgarh to the Kailas Range, 

 in suitable localities. I have again seen the bird in 

 various parts of Kashmir and Chamba, and sent several 

 specimens to the Bombay Natural History Society 

 from Kashmir. Further to the East again, I have met 

 with the bird in the Jubal and Taroche State of the 

 Simla District, and in Tehri Gurhwa], as far up as 

 Hursil Avithin 2 marches of Gungotrie. 



