234 Mr. J. H. Gurney's Notes on 



nearer to the latter than to the former ; in both specimens 

 the older portions of the plumage are so worn and faded as 

 to be of little use in the diagnosis between such closely 

 allied races. 



Aquila vindhiana of India, though very closely allied to A. 

 rapax and A. albicans, is, on the average of specimens, a 

 rather smaller bird than either. In coloration it comes nearest 

 to A. albicans ; but the latter seems never to assume the pe- 

 culiar grey tint on the head, neck, and underparts which 

 Mr. Sharpe defines as a " greyish mouse-colour " in his de- 

 scription of the ^'^ young" stage of ^. vindhiana*. 



Mr. Sharpens description of this plumage and of that of an 

 adult female may be supplemented by a reference to the par- 

 ticulars given in Jerdon's ' Birds of India,^ vol. i. p. 60, and in 

 Mr. Hume^s ' Scrap-book,^ p. IZGf, also by the description of 

 the nestling-plumage in Hume^s ' Nests and Eggs of Indian 

 Birds,' p. 30 ; to the information afforded by these authorities, 

 I may add the following note, dated July 1875, for which I 

 am indebted to the kindness of Mr. W. E. Brooks : — " I have 

 A. vindhiana from the nest to old age : the nestling is alight- 

 toned bird, rather tawny on the body-plumage ; the second plu- 

 mage is of a dull greyish brown, somewhat like the brown of 

 immatui'e A. nipalensis ; this passes into the dark brown bird, 

 either wholly dark brown, or with part of the body whity 

 brown. The whity-brown stage is that of a very old bird ; but 

 it is possible that younger birds, the colours of which are not 

 fast, might, in a comparatively short time, reach the whity- 

 brown stage. This species is subject to great variation; and 

 I have not seen two birds quite alike.'' 



I may also observe that in fully adult specimens of A. 

 vindhiana, particoloured feathers, of two shades of brown, 

 frequently occur on the upper scapulars and lesser wing- 



* Specimens of A. vindhiana exhibiting this grey tint are scarce in col- 

 lections ; the British Museum possesses such a one in very perfect unfaded 

 plumage, from which I presume IVIr. Sharpe took his description of the 

 " young " bird. 



t In both these works the present species is referred to under the name 

 of Aquila fulvescens. 



