RAPTORES. 11 



The adults have the head, throat, and all the upper and 

 under surface blackish brown, stained on the edges and extre- 

 mities of many of the feathers, particularly the wing- and upper 

 tail-coverts, with pale brown ; back and sides of the neck rusty 

 red ; irides hazel ; cere and space round the eye yellowish 

 white ; bill yellowish horn-colour, passing into black at the 

 tip ; feet light yellow. 



The young have the head and back of the neck deep fawn- 

 colom', striated with lighter ; all the feathers of the upper 

 surface largely tipped and stained with fawn and rusty red ; 

 tail indistinctly barred near the extremity ; throat and breast 

 blackish brown, each feather largely tipped with rufous ; the 

 abdomen blackish brown. 



Modern systematists consider that this bird was first 

 characterized by Latham under the specific appellation of 

 audax ; I have therefore retained that name in lieu oifiicosa, 

 by which the bu'd has hitherto been known. 



Genus HIERAETUS, Kaup. 



Sp. 2. HIERAETUS MORPHNOIDES. 



Little Eagle. 



Aquila morphndides, Gould, in Proc. of Zool. Soc, part viii. p. 161. 

 Butaetus morphndides, Blyth, Journ. of Asiat. Soc. Beng., vol. xiv. 



p. 546. 

 Hieraetus morphndides, Kaup, Classif. der Saug. und Vog. 



Aquila morphnoides, Gould, Birds of Australia, fol., vol. i. pL 2. 



Since my discovery of this species on the Upper Hunter, iu 

 1839, but few examples have been obtained, and it is still an 

 exceedingly rare bird in the collections of Europe. My ori- 

 ginal specimen is now at Philadelphia, while, in England, a 

 second is in the possession of T. C. Eyton, Esq., and I believe 

 a third is comprised in the fine series of Raptorial Birds formed 



