1010 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVI. 



air it appears to be silvery grey throughout, when 

 seen from below, and very much larger than his 

 measurements would lead one to believe. 



Blanford likens it to a Harrier — "but more 

 frequently circling in the air or beating over the 

 ground and bushes like a Harrier" — but this is a bit 

 misleading so far as the flight is concerned, as a 

 Harrier's mode of progression is a succession of 

 flaps followed by a bout of sailing whereas the 

 Short-toed Eagle is seldom seen to flap. On the 

 open plains where it is most frequently met with, 

 it will be found to circle and hover, circle and 

 hover, changing its position frequently to search 

 diS"erent bits of the plain. On seeing its prey it will 

 sometimes stoop with closed wings at a tremendous 

 pace, until within 50 ft. or so of the ground and 

 thereafter will descend gently to the ground, rather 

 like a Black-winged Kite, only I have never seen 

 it do so with legs extended or wings held so far 

 back as that of the latter. Its flght is generally 

 light and graceful, and the wings are sometimes held 

 well back, when soaring, but not always. 



Seen flying and at very close quarters a narrow 

 dark line is discernible in the region of the first 

 primary, and some dark marking on either side of 

 the chin. Closer still, and the spots on the abdomen 

 may also be noticed, but usually what one sees is a 

 great big bird of a uniform pale silvery grey through- 

 out. Seated on a tree, some distance away, the 

 first thing to strike the observer is a huge head, 

 more like an owl's than an eagle's. I have seen this 

 bird tackle and kill a large snake which, I think, 

 was a Zamenis and quite 5 to 6 ft. in length. 



I saw the bird dropping from a great height, on 

 the canal bank near Gurdaspur, then, as usual, 

 steady himself before he got near the ground and 

 finally sit on the bank whence he rushed at the 

 snake, with outspread wings. I could not see where 

 he caught it, but he flew off' the instant he had got 

 a good grip and judging from the very small amount 

 of snake, and that about the centre of its body, I 

 concluded that the bird had its head in its claws 

 and the rest of the snake was coiling round the bird. 

 I have twice caught this species in nooses, with a 

 rat as a bait. On one occasion the eagle sat down 

 about 4 ft. from the nooses and then rushed at 

 the rat through them and was caught, and on the 

 second it came down direct, but very slowly and 

 almost vertically downwards, so that it got the 

 rat without touching the nooses, and only got 

 caught by the merest chance as it was flying away 

 with it. 



1 have seen this species on the bare slopes above 

 Dharmsala, at about 7,500 ft. though he is by no 

 means a familiar feature of the hills, at these 

 altitudes. 



