296 Mr. W. II. Simpson's Ornithological Notes. 



however prefer the bushy outskirts and shun the depths of the 

 forest, as does also the conspicuous Lanius minor, which, next 

 to the Woodchat, is the commonest Shrike of Greece. In winter 

 this forest is a paradise for woodcock, as are the marshes, which 

 interlace it, for snipe and wild-duck ; but many parts are inac- 

 cessible except to the wild pigs and jackals, of which there is no 

 lack. This makes our visit to the nests of the Spotted Eagle a 

 somewhat difficult task. 



Aquila ruevia constructs a very small nest for the size of the 

 bird : it is generally well concealed in the fork of a large tree, 

 so that it might very easily escape observation. The exterior 

 is neatly rounded off, and has none of those great branches 

 sticking out which are often seen in nests of other Eagles. 

 Inside it is comfortably lined with wool. The eggs vary con- 

 siderably according to the age of the bird, but are generally 

 handsomely marked with large spots and blotches of a rust- 

 colour on a whitish ground. Of two which I have in my 

 collection from the same nest, taken May 4, 1859, one has an 

 exceedingly rich rust-coloured zone, streaked with darker shades, 

 irregularly covering about one-third of the egg towards the 

 smaller ends, the ground-colour being of a yellowish-white. 

 The upper part of the egg is also marked with spots and blotches 

 of the same colour, each one being distinct, and not in the least 

 smudged so as to spoil the ground-colour of the egg. Except 

 as to size, the two eggs from this nest resemble those of the 

 Sparrow-hawk more than any other raptorial bird. The Greeks, 

 who are the worst field-naturalists possible, have no name for 

 this species distinct from that of any other Eagle, all of which 

 they call indiff*erently aeT6<i, in the same way that they call all 

 Vultures opvtov. The Golden Eagle [Aquila chrysaetos) is cer- 

 tainly not common in this district, and the Imperial Eagle I never 

 once saw. There did occur during last winter a very black Eagle, 

 which appeared to me much smaller than Aquila chrysaetos, 

 though similar in character. Can this have been the Aquila 

 fusca of Brehm ? 



