648 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL RLST. SOCIETY, Vol, XXVI. 



Habits, etc. This is essentially a bird of the hiUs and not often 



to be met with in the plains. Blanford says that 

 the eggs were obtained by Hume from Kulu and 

 Bushahr, and were said to have been taken early in 

 January, and Lt.-Col. Rattray records the fuiding of 

 a nest in Changlagali on the 4th May 1904, with 

 one egg, much incubated. (Journal of the Bombay 

 Natural History Society, Vol. XVI, page 662.) 



Blanford gives its distribution as " throughout the 



Himalayas as far west as Chamba " but it is 



obvious it is to be found a good deal further west 

 and north, judging from the finding of the nest in 

 Changlagali. Though widely distributed, I do not 

 think this bird is often met with anywhere in the 

 Punjab. Personally I have only come across it about 

 half a dozen times in over 20 years wanderings in the 

 Himalayas, though I saw it frequently during 18 

 months I spent in the Jeypm- Agency (Madras 

 Presidency) and on the borders of the Bastar State 

 (C.P.). The flight of this handsome eagle has been 

 likened to that of a Harrier, but, though he resembles 

 the Harriers in his manner of beating over a 

 hill-side and suddenly checking, to drop silently into 

 the grass, the flight itself is more like that of a Golden 

 Eagle, the wings held well back and showing a great 

 expanse of chest. 



On the wing this appears to be a huge bird owing 

 to the great length of the wings, though in reality 

 it is comparatively small and does not weigh more 

 than about 4 lbs. If passing overhead at close 

 quarters, the brilliant yellow feet are plainly dis- 

 cernible, contrasting vividly with the smrounding 

 black feathers. 



It is said to live largely on the young and eggs of 

 birds and has been seen to carry off a nest and 

 examine its contents. I have seen it " drop " after 

 lizards. 



Col. Rattray describes the egg as "a very hand- 

 some one, smeared with grey and dark purple ; the 

 markings are nowhere in blotches, but smeared, 

 running round axis of egg." As many as 3 eggs have 

 been foimd in one nest. They measure about 2*6 

 by 1-95. 



Type D. 



Family FALCONIDiE. 



Subfamily FALCONING. 



Genus Spizaetus. 



No. 1212. Spizaetus limnaetus, The Changeable Hawk-Eagle. 



Characteristics. Primaries exceeding the secondaries by less than 



length of tarsus; claws much curved, hind claw longest; 

 tip of primaries in closed wing falling very far short 

 of end of tail ; feathering of tarsus does not extend to 

 the division of toes ; crest rudimentary or wanting. 



