Mr. R. B. Sharps' s Catalogue of Accipitres. 227 



In South-western Europe A. rapax appears to be ex- 

 tremely rare. Some years since I had the opportunity of 

 examining the skin of an immature specimen^ obtained in 

 Spain by Lord Lilford, which was referred^ and, I believe, cor- 

 rectly so, to this species; but most of the specimens from South- 

 western Europe which were at one time supposed to belong 

 to A rapax have been subsequently ascertained to be imma- 

 ture examples of A. adalberti ; Lord Lilford, however, men- 

 tions having on one occasion seen an Eagle in Andalucia, 

 which, unfortunately, was not obtained, but which, from the 

 description given, would seem to have been an adult A. rapax*. 



In South-eastern Europe I am able to cite one unquestion- 

 able instance of the occurrence and nidification of ^. rapax, 

 which is referred to in a letter from Dr. W. H. Cullen in 

 * The Ibis ' for 1867, p. 247, and in a subsequent letter from 

 the same gentleman published in the second edition of Dr. 

 Breeds ' Birds of Europe,' vol. i. p. 90 ; from these it appears 

 that two nestling specimens were obtained by Dr. Cullen at 

 Kustendji, in Turkey, in the spring of 1865, one of which 

 remained in his possession till January 1868, when he pre- 

 sented it to the Zoological Society of Antwerp, in whose col- 

 lection I saw it alive and in excellent feather on the 4th of 

 September, 1876, when, through the courtesy of the autho- 

 rities at the Gardens of the Society, I had the opportunity of 

 carefully and fully examining it. The early history of this 

 interesting specimen is thus given in Dr. Cullen's letter to 

 Dr. Bree, above referred to : — '' I had two birds half-fledged 

 brought me ; and as I was attracted by their colour (a light 

 cream ....), I bought them : one died; the survivor is at 

 Antwerp. The whole plumage was this delicate ^^ fauve isa- 

 belle'' silk down ; and then it grew, gradually developing itself 

 into an almost perfect copy of your A. navioides." The draw- 

 ings and description of this Eagle, which in 1874 were sent 

 from Antwerp to Dr. Bree, did not appear to me to agree 

 with the typical A. rapax ; and, partly in consequence of my 

 expressing this opinion as regards the details given in the de- 

 scription. Dr. Bree provisionally proposed for this Eagle, 

 * Vide Ibis, 1865, p. 172. 



