50. spiLORNis. 287 



50. SPILORNIS. 



Type. 



Iljematornis, Vigors, P. Z. S. L"SoO-31, p. 170 (wee Sk.), S. cheela. 



Spilornis, Gray, List Gen. B. p. 3 (1840) S. bacba. 



Opboaetus, Jerd. Madr. Journ. xiii. p. 159 (1844) .... S. melanotis. 



Range. Indian peninsula, with the Andaman Islands and Ceylon, 

 extending throughout the Indo-Malayan suhregion and islands to 

 Celebes, the Sula group, aud the Philippines, reaching to Southern 

 China and Formosa. 



Key to the Species. 



a. Chest uniform. 

 a'. Chest bro\\Ti. 



a". Pale brown above aud below, the spots more 

 or less obscurelj^ indicated. 

 a'". Very large and robust ; wing varying fi'om 



15 to 20-5 inches cheela, p. 287. 



h'". Verv much smaller and slighter; wing not 



exceeding 14'o inches palUdus, p. 290. 



b''. General colour darlc browu ; the spots shown 



in bold relief bacha, p. 290. 



b'. Chest rufous. 



c". Chest deep rufous; belly spotted with white. . riijipectiis, p. 291. 

 d". Chest pale rufous ; belly narrowly banded with 



rufous and broadly with white sulaenfis, p. 292. 



b. Chest and back spotted with white hohspilus, p. 293, 



1. Spilornis cheela. 



Cheela Falcon, Lath. Gen. Syn. Svppl. p. 33 (1787). 



Falco cheela, Lath. Lid. Orn. i. p. 14 (1790). 



Falco albidus, Temm. PI. Col. i. pi. 19 (1824, e.f Cuv.). 



Cymindis albidus, Vigors, Zool. Journ. i. p. 324 (1824). 



Buteo albidus, Cuv. Ltlyne An. i. p. 337 (1829). 



Htematornis undulatus. Vigors, P. Z. S. 1830-31, p. 171 ; Gould, 



Cent. Himal. B. pi. 1 (1832). 

 Circaetus nipalensis, Hodgs. As. Research, xviii. pt. 2, p. 17, pi. 2 



(1833). 

 Ilaliaetus bacha, Meyen, Beitr. p. 68 (1834). 

 Spilornis undulata, Gray, Cat. Accipitr. 1844, p. 10. 

 Circaetus undulatus, Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 16 (1845). 

 Haematornis cheela, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xiv. p. 179 (1845) ; Horsf. ^■ 



Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. L Co. i. p. 50 (lt<o4). 

 Circaetus cheela, Gray, Cat. Accipitr. 1848, p. 18 ; Schl. Mus. P.-B. 



Buteones, p. 25 (1862) ; Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 14 (1869). 

 Spilornis cheela, Bp. Consp. i. p. 17 (1850) ; StricJil. Orn. >Syn. p. 17 



(1855, pt.) ; Jerd. B. Lnd. i. p. 77 (1862) ; Bh/th, Ibis, 1863, p. 12, 



et 1866, p. 243 ; Hume, R. N. i. p. 222 (1869) ; Sicinh. P. Z. S. 



1^71, p. 340. 

 Spilornis orientalis, Giirney, Ibis, 186G, p. 243 (lapsu). 

 Spilornis hoya, Sicinh. Ibis, 18G0, pp. S04, 399 ; Gumcy, t. c. p. 421. 



Nestling. Covered with white down, but already the sprouting 

 feathers forming a crest ; the plumage as far as developed blackish 



