A DETHRONED MONARCH 175 



of the tail is a guide, but by no means an infallible one. 

 The shikra, the sparrow-hawk, the kestrel, and the kite 

 are long-tailed birds, the caudal appendage accounting 

 for half their total length. In the eagles the tail is 

 considerably shorter in proportion to the size of the 

 bird. Thus the female of the golden eagle {Aquila 

 cJuyscetus) — which, en passant, is not gold in colour, but 

 dirty whitish brown — is 40 inches long, while the tail is 

 but 14 inches. The vultures have yet shorter tails in 

 proportion to their size. If, therefore, you see soaring 

 overhead a big bird of prey, looking like a large kite, 

 with a moderate tail and curved rather than straight 

 wings, that bird is probably an eagle. So much, then, 

 for the appearance of our dethroned monarch ; it now 

 behoves us to consider his character and habits. There 

 are many species of eagle, each of which has its own 

 peculiar ways, hence it is impossible for the naturalist 

 to generalise concerning them. In this respect he is 

 not so fortunate as the poet. Let us briefly consider 

 two species, one belonging to the finer type of eagle 

 and the other to the baser sort. 



Bonelli's eagle {Hieraetus fasciatus), or the crestless 

 hawk eagle as Jerdon calls him, is perhaps the nearest 

 approach of any to the poet's eagle. This fine bird is 

 common on the Nilgiris, but rare in Madras. It is said 

 to disdain carrion ; it preys on small mammals and 

 birds of all sizes. It takes game birds by preference, 

 but when hungry does not draw the line at the crow. If 

 it has hunted all day without obtaining the wherewithal 

 to fill its belly, it repairs to the grove of trees in which 

 all the crows of the neighbourhood roost. As the sun 



