324 FALCONID^ CIRCAETUS 



Key of the Species. 



A. Larger wing 21 to 22. 



a. Below, chest sepia-brown, abdomen white C. pectoralis, ad. p. 324. 



b. Below, tawny-rufous, sometimes with shaft 



lines C. 2>ecto7'alis,juv. p. 324. 



B. Smaller wing about 14 ; below, chin white, 



chest brown, abdomen white, barred with 



dark brown C. fasciolatus, p. 326. 



528. Circaetus pectoralis. Black-breasted Harrier Eagle. 



Circaetus pectoralis, Sviith, S. Afr. Quart. Jonrtu 1st ser. p. 109 

 (1830); Giirncij, Ibis, 1868, p. 139; id. in Andersson's B. Damara- 

 land, p. 10 (1872); A^jres, Ibis, 1874, p. 105, 1877, p. 341, 1878, 

 p. 281, 1880, p. 2.57, 1885, p. 242, 1886, p. 282 (Potchefstroom) ; 

 Gurney, Ibis, 1878, pp. 150, 164 ; Shelley, B. Afr. i, p. 150 (1896) ; 

 Woodward Bros. Natal B. p. 147 (1899); Marshall, Ibis, 1900, p. 257 

 [Sahsbury] ; Rcichenow, Vug. Afr. i, p. 572 (1901). 



Circaetus thoracicus. Less. Traite, p. 48 (1841) ; Grill, K. Vet. Ahad. 

 Handl. ii, no. 10, p. 50 (1858) ; Gurney, Ibis, 1859, p. 238, 1860, p. 203 

 [Natal] ; Verr. ^ des Murs, Ibis, 1862, p. 209 ; Layard, B. S. 

 Afr. p. 15 (1867). 



Circaetus cinereus (nee Vieill.), Sharpe, Cat. B. M. i, p. 282 (1874) [in 

 part] ; id. ed. Layard' s B. 8. Afr. pp. 43, 797 (1875-84). 



Description. Adult. — Above, dark brown, some of the feathers 

 of the wing and tail-coverts with paler edges and tips ; quills very- 

 dark brown, white on the basal half of the inner web ; tail tipped 

 with white and with three dark cross bands, the interspaces becom- 

 ing white on the inner webs of the outer feathers ; sides of the 

 neck, throat, and chest dark brown ; rest of the underparts pure 

 white ; wings white below, only the tips of the quills brown, no 

 bars ; tail white below with three cross bars. 



Iris light yellow ; bill blackish ; cere and gape oHve-yellow, 

 (bluish- white apud Marshall) ; legs dingy white. 



Length 29*0; wing 21-0; tail 10-5; culinen 2-1 ; tarsus 3-75. 



The female is slightly larger than the male, wing 22-0 ; tail 12-5 ; 

 tarsus 3*85. 



A young bird is much paler brown above ; the head and neck 

 are dirty white with brown shaft stripes ; tail very dark brown with 

 very faint traces of darker bars ; below, including the under wing- 

 coverts, tawny-rufous, palest on the sides of the neck and throat, 

 where there are traces of darker shaft lines ; ear-coverts greyish- 

 bro%Yn ; on the abdomen and under tail-coverts the tawny is varied 



