216 AQUILA CHRYSAETUS. 



Young. — When fully fledged the young bird has the bill 

 brownish-black, paler at the base ; the cere greenish-yellow ; 

 the iris dark brown ; the feet lemon-yellow; the claws brownish- 

 black. The feathers of the head and hind-neck are brown, 

 tipped with light yellowish-brown ; the back and breast deep 

 brown, the wing-coverts and inner secondaries paler and tipped 

 with whitish ; the feathers of the inner and fore part of the 

 tibia, and those of the tarsus, white at the end ; the lower tail- 

 coverts white, with a brown spot ; the primaries brownish- 

 black, the secondaries dark brown, with their bases white, 

 mottled Avith greyish-brown ; the tail wdiite, with a broad ter- 

 minal band of brownish-black. The white bases of the feathers 

 appear in patches on the back and hind-neck. 



A newly fledged bird from Norway, remarkably beautiful on 

 account of the mottled state of its plumage, I may with pro- 

 priety describe, as the precise markings of the young of this 

 family have never been accurately given by any author. The 

 horny part of the bill is blackish-brown, yellowish at the 

 base, the cere and basal margins yellow ; the feet yellow, 

 the claws deep black. The down and bases of all the fea- 

 thers pure white. The forehead is brown, the hind-head 

 and back part of the neck dull yellowish-brown ; the plu- 

 mage of the other parts is dark chocolate, but the white 

 is apparent everywhere, unless on the smaller wing-coverts ; 

 the feathers on the edge of the wing yellowish-brown, with a 

 central dusky streak. The basal half of the quills and larger 

 wing coverts being white, that colour is very conspicuous on 

 the wing ; the terminal portion of the quills brownish-black, 

 of which dots and small spots encroach on the white part. The 

 tail is white, w^ith a terminal band of brownish-black, four 

 inches in breadth on the outer w^ebs of the outer, and three on 

 those of the inner feathers, being narrow^er on the inner webs. 

 The large tufty feathers on the abdomen, as well as the inner 

 tibial and tarsal feathers, are white ; the lower tail-coverts 

 greyish- white, with a light brown patch at the end. 



Progress toward Maturity. — A Scottish male of the flrst year 

 examined in the end of December was as follows. The soft skin 

 at the base of the bill, the cere and feet rich pure yellow ; the 



