160 WILD LIFK IN CHINA. 



horn-coloured head, and the same black talons. A further 

 resemblance is to be found in the immense area of its habitat. 

 It seems to have made the greater part of Europe and Asia 

 its home, and where it does not regularly reside it comes at 

 times as a visitor. This is the case with the northern and 

 eastern parts of China. Farther south, and in Tongking and 

 Siam, the bird is much more common. It is said that the 

 white marks tend to vanish with age. A . maculata is a hunter 

 of small mammals, but has a particular liking for feathered 

 food in the form of ducks. 



It is said to share a trait common to other eagles and 

 birds of prey, a trait already mentioned in a preceding 

 chapter, that of the perfect toleration of smaller birds and 

 animals near its home. Some birds are said even to nest 

 amongst the huge agglomeration of sticks which the eagle 

 collects for its own eyrie. 



Last of the five eagles on our list is Spizaetus NipaJensis, 

 a "piping"' eagle coming only as an occasional visitor, though 

 apparently having a liking for Formosa. It is described as 

 being a terrible foe both to pheasants and squirrels. The 

 crested Spizaetus is quite a dandy amongst the eagles. It 

 has a handsome topknot of golden brown feathers dashed 

 down the middle with black, and rising from a pure white 

 forehead. A splash of black surrounds the eye, and then 

 the white descends to the very feet, covering breast and 

 belly. The back and wings are a ruddy brown, the tail, a 

 black barred slaty blue. There is more of the falcon than of 

 the eagle look about this handsome bird. 



