appearance at certain spots in the district it frequents, always about 

 the same liour. It may often be seen seated on the summit of a 

 lofty tree, or on some over-hanging rock. 



It preys by preference on various kinds of game, hares, jungle 

 fow^l, s[)ur-fowl, and partridges, and even on pea-fowl ; also on 

 ducks, herons, and other water-fowl, and, according to the testimony 

 of Shikarees, it has been known to strike down the douk (Tan- 

 talus leucocephalus). Most Native falconers, too, have stories to 

 relate of it§ having carried off a favorite hawk. On one occasion, 

 on the Neilgherries, I observed one stoop successively at a spur-fowl, 

 a hare, and a pea-fowl, each time unsuccessfully, however, owing 

 to the thickness of the jungle. A pair were also wont to resort 

 regularly to a village on the hills and carry oiF fowls. ]\lr. Elliot, 

 too, mentions" that he once saw a pair of them nearly surprise a 

 peacock, pouncing on him on the ground." Great havoc was 

 committed among several pigeon-houses on the Neilgherries in 

 1840-1841, by a pair of these Eagles, and I heard that one or two 

 were com.pletely devastated by them. The manner in which they 

 captured the pigeons was described to me by two or three eye- 

 witnesses to be as follows : — On the pigeons taking flight, one of 

 the Eagles pounced down from a vast height on the flock, but 

 directing its swoop rather under the pigeons, than directly at them. 

 Its mate, watching the moment when, alarmed by the first swoop, 

 the pigeons rose in confusion, pounced unerringly on one of therh, 

 and carried it off, and the other Eagle having risen again, also 

 makes another, and, this time, a fatal stoop. One of these Eagles, 

 shot in the act, was presented to me by a gentleman, who had been 

 a great sufferer by them. 



The Mhorungi breeds on high rocky cliffs. I am acquainted with 

 the site of one eyrie on the eastern slope of the Neilgherries; but 

 at the time I paid it a visit the young birds had flown. It was on a 

 broad ledge of rock, not more than 20 feet from the top of the 

 cliff, and could have easily been visited with the aid of a rope. I 

 have very little doubt that this Eagle could be trained to kill 

 hares, antelopes, fawns, and probably bustards also, and if so would 

 afford magnificent sport. 



