GOLDEN EAGLE. 217 



bill and claws lifflit blue at the base, brownish-black at the 

 end. The basal or concealed part of the whole plumage, as 

 well as the down, is pure white. The pveocular region whit- 

 ish, the bristles black ; the head and hind-neck umber-brown, 

 each feather tipped with light yellowish-brown ; the general 

 colour of the plumage is a rich deep brown, on the back and 

 scapulars highly glossed with purple. The primary quills, 

 their coverts and alula, deep black towards the end ; the secon- 

 dary quills deep brown, obscurely mottled with greyish ; the 

 tail white, with a broad brownish-black terminal band, on the 

 middle feathers three, on the lateral four inches in breadth ; 

 upper tail-coverts similar, having only a terminal band of 

 brown. All the feathers are more or less tipped with whitish 

 or pale brown ; and on the short feathers of the legs the white 

 tips are so large as to form the principal colour ; the white 

 base of the dorsal feathers appears here and there, and that of 

 the primary quills is also apparent. 



As the bird advances in age, the light yellowish-brown of 

 the head and hind-neck assumes a richer tint, sometimes ap- 

 proaching to chestnut ; the short feathers of the legs acquire a 

 similar tint ; the deep brown of the body undergoes little 

 change, but the wing-coverts become of a lighter hue and the 

 breast often more brown ; the whitish tips disappear on the 

 body ; the white of the basal portion of all the feathers and 

 quills gradually diminishes from the enlargement of the brown, 

 so that the white patches on the back and hind-neck disappear ; 

 the quills ultimately being brownish-grey, irregularly banded 

 or mottled with darker ; and the tail becoming banded and 

 mottled with dark brown on a brownish-grey ground, while its 

 upper coverts are deep brown, and the lower chestnut. 



After examining about fifty individuals, alive, newly killed, 

 or preserved, I think that the plumage is darker in early than 

 in old age, many young birds having the back and breast 

 blackish-brown, and the ends of the quills deep black ; but the 

 yellowish-brown parts become of a richer tint. The diminu- 

 tion of the basal white of the feathers is perfectly analogous to 

 what we observe in the Sea-Eagle, in which however the tail 

 ultimately becomes white, the change commencing near the tip. 



