lOlQ JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXV L 



I have seen this species make a determined swoop 

 into a flock of duck as it flew past but he ^ did not 

 attempt to follow up. It is not often that they 

 attack unhurt birds but a wounded duck or goose 

 stands a poor chance of escaping from one of these. 



Pallas's Fishing Eagle is not proud and will descend 

 to robbing a tern of a tiny fish not more than 4 

 to 5 inches in length, or a Marsh Harrier of its hard 

 earned frog. It will unhesitatingly attack even the 

 Imperial Eagle and being faster on the wing than any 

 of the members of the genus Aquila, except chryscetus 

 has no difliculty in robbing them of their prey, 

 though I, on one occasion, witnessed a most interest- 

 ing spectacle in which a fine female Imperial Eagle 

 devoured a raynah. The bird had been originally 

 caught by a Laggar Falcon which had to give it up 

 to a Tawny. The Fishing Eagle attacked the Tawny 

 and both came to the ground with the mynah 

 between each of their claws and while other Eagles 

 circled round, ready to join in the fray, the Imperial 

 came straight down and at once attacked and got the 

 mynah. The Tawny at once released its hold but the 

 Fisherman held on for a little time, before giving up, 

 but did not move away as the other had done and 

 only waited for an opening to attack the Imperial, 



Mr. Hume says that he has never known this bird 

 to protect its nest while eggs were in it, but once the 

 young arrived on the scene, it was very difl'erent, and 

 the pair attacked any man who went for the nest. 



They breed in the late autumn and early winter, 

 building a huge nest of sticks in the fork of a tree 

 and lay from two to four eggs, " greyish white, 

 unspotted ; very dark green when looked through 

 against a light, and about 277 by 2*17. " 



The flight, when beating up or down a river is 

 hurried and the wing usually slightly bent back from 

 the " wrist." It soars well and attains tremendous 

 heights. The wings are held in the same plane as 

 the body and the tips of the primaries very frequent- 

 ly appear to be hanging downwards, i.e., below the 

 plane of the body. The tail is seldom spread out 

 and frequently appears to be very narrow. 



No. 1225. Halia'etus albicilla. The White-tailed Sea-Eagle. 



Characteristics, Size large, wing about 26 inches ; tail white ex- 



cept at the base (no marginal dark band at the end, 

 as in leucoviipTius) and 7vedge-shaped. 



Colouration. Very similar to leucoryphus except that there is a 



vast difference in the tail. Whereas of leucoryphus 

 it may be said that the tail is dark with a broad 

 white band in the centre, in the case of this species 

 it is all white, except at the extreme base. 



" Cere and bill yellow in adults ; cere yellowish 

 brown, bill black in young birds ; iris yellow (brown 

 in the young); feet yellow. There is a slight ruif of 



