falconid;e eutolmaetus 299 



portion of the upper tail-coveits white ; wings very dark brown above 

 and below ; tail dark brown slightly tipped with white, with traces of 

 four or five darker bars ; under parts white with dark brown shaft 

 stripes on the throat and chest and traces of tawny mottlings on the 

 thighs and under tail-coverts; under wing-coverts white streaked 

 and spotted with dark brown ; wing-quills black ; tail-feathers ashy 

 below. 



Iris pale brown ; bill bluish- black, pale bluish at the base; cere 

 and gape wax yellow ; feet pale wax yellow. 



Length about 23-0; wing 15-4; tail 8 25; culmen 1-5; tarsus 

 2-1. The male is smaller, wing 13"25; tail 7-5 ; tarsus 2-1. 



The young bird is darker above, the feathers of the head are 

 dark brown edged with dark rufous; the under parts and cheeks 

 are dark brown throughout with black shaft streaks, the thighs and 

 under tail-coverts a little paler. 



Some birds retain the dark brown under parts for a long time 

 and even breed in this plumage. 



Distribution. — The Booted Eagle is found throughout southern 

 Europe and Asia as far as Ceylon and Bunna ; it is also spread 

 over north-eastern and southern Africa, though nowhere very 

 abundantly. Within our limits it has been noticed in the following 

 localities : Cape Colony — Cape div. (S. A. Mus.), Berg river where 

 it breeds, Nelspoort in Beaufort West, Swellendam and Grahams- 

 town (Layard) ; Natal — Newcastle (Feilden) ; Transvaal — Eusten- 

 burg (Ayres) ; German south-west Africa — Ondonga (Andersson). It 

 has further been obtained in Nyasaland but not hitherto in Angola 

 or German east Africa. 



Habits. — The only account of the habits of this somewhat rare 

 bird in South Africa is that of Mr. Layard. He states that it was 

 found breeding in the Berg river in September by Messrs. Cootze 

 and Melck ; the nests are placed in trees and are lined with green 

 leaves ; the clutch usually consists of two eggs of dirty white ground 

 colour slightly smeared and freckled with pale brown. They 

 measure 2-45 x 1-90. 



Like others of this genus it appears to be a highly predatory 

 species feeding on small mammals and birds. 



520. Eutolmaetus spilogaster. African Hawk-Eagle. 



Spizaijtus spilogaster, Bj). Bev. Mar/. Zool. 1850, p. 487 ; Laijard, B. S. 



Afr. p. 14 (1867). 

 Spizaetus ayresii, Gurncij, Ibis, 1862, p. 149, pi. 4 [Natal] ; id. Ibis, 



1864, p. 356. 



