214 ORNITHOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS. 



with pale brown, those of jugulum and upper breast with a large ter- 

 minal spot of dusky, many of the feathers of sides and abdomen with 

 small and usually indistinct brown terminal spots ; thighs and crissum 

 dirty white, the fea^^hers with dusky terminal spots, these largest on 

 crissum, and on upper and inner portions of tliighs coalesced so as to 

 form the predominating color. Under side of wing white, spotted with 

 dusky." (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., VI, 1883, p. 90.) 

 My remarks on the fresh bird read as follows : 



Ida faint yellowish white. Bill horny brown; cere yellow, on culmen shaded with 

 horny brown. Feet vivid golden yellow. 



Duneiiiions.— Total length, 890n^'"; stretch of wings, 2.220«>; wing, 630°""; tail- 

 feathers, 322™™ ; cnlnieu from cere, 56""' ; radius of curvature from cere to tip, SS""™; 

 height of upper mandible at fore border of cere, 29™"* ; external chord of hind claw, 



In my preliminary report (Proc. U. S. Mus., YI, 1883, p. 67), when 

 comparing it with the young of H. leucocephalus, I stated that "the 

 size is not inconsiderably less than that of the bald eagle, as the speci- 

 men in question represents the largest size of its kind, being not larger 

 than an old male of the said species. The bill is fully equal in size to 

 that of a young leucocephalus, and the feet likewise; but the body, tail, 

 and wings are smaller." 



My friend, Mr. E. Ridgway, on the other hand, thought that it com- 

 pared better with the adult male of H. albicilla " as for size and pro- 

 portions " (l. c, p. 91, foot note), at the same time indicating as a pos- 

 sibility that it might be " the eastern representative" of the latter 

 (I. c, p. 90), a statement which has evidently induced Mr. Gurney to 

 reduce it to a subspecies, as S. albicilla hypoleucus, though adding a 

 query, it is true. Mr. Eidgway, however, has now reversed his opinion 

 after having seen the enormous eagles which I brought back from Bering 

 Island, the subjects of my comparison, while at the time, when he wrote 

 his remarks, he had only specimens of the much smaller form for com- 

 parison. His remarks, that the " bill and feet are much larger than iu 

 a specimen of the bald eagle of equal size so far as other measurements 

 are concerned," are therefore in complete harmony with those of mine, 

 that " the size is iu some respects inferior to that of the bald eagle, the 

 bill holding fully the size of that of a young H. IcucocepJialus, and the 

 feet hkewise, but the body, the wing, and tail being smaller." What 

 we both wished to express and emphasize was the disproportion be- 

 tween the dimensions of the other parts and those of the bill and feet. 



In this connection 1 will call attention to another character of the 



