42 The Oologists' Record, June i, 1922. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE NEST AND EGGS OF Spizaetus 

 bellicosus (Daud.) AND Stenostira scita (l/ieill,). 



By H. W. James. 



Spizaetus bellicosus (Daud.). — Equalling the magnificent and 

 powerful Aqiiila verreauxi (Less.), in size, the Martial Hawk Eagle 

 is one of the finest of all our larger South African Eagles. Like 

 many other large birds of prey, it is yearly becoming scarcer. 

 Whenever opportunity offers, it takes such heavy toll of the farmers' 

 kids and lambs that it is, as far as South Africa is concerned, 

 becoming slowly exterminated. The day is not far distant when 

 these magnificent birds will live but as a memory. 



I have one egg in my collection, taken in April, 1908, in the 

 Barkly West district. It agrees well with the single egg in the 

 British Museum collection, taken in the Orange Free State. My 

 e,^^ is, in shape, a broad rounded oval. The texture of the shell 

 is very rough and quite devoid of any gloss. In colour it is dull 

 white, sparingly spotted and blotched with pale reddish-brown. The 

 markings are heavier and denser on the top, where, in addition to 

 the blotches, there are a number of short, thick, streaks of dark 

 purplish-brown. It measures 3-18 inches in length by 2-66 inches 

 in breadth. 



The nest, built of stout sticks and grass, was placed on the top 

 of a large mimosa tree, about 25 feet from the ground. 



Stenostira scita (Vieill.). — In the mimosa scrub, found along all 

 the periodical watercourses of the Cradock and Tarkastad district, 

 the Fairy Flycatcher is fairly plentiful but the nest is a rare one : 

 so rare that I know of no other collector in South Africa who has 

 taken the eggs. I have collected for fifteen years in those districts, 

 and in that time have recorded only six nests. The rarity of the 

 nest is due to the clever way in which the small, beautiful structure 

 is hidden and the skill displayed in making it harmonise with its 

 surroundings. 



The nest is built of dry leaves, dead grass and cobwebs ; the 

 inside well lined with feathers ; the walls thick and compact and the 

 whole neatly and beautifully finished. All nests found measured 

 the same, i\ inches in diameter by i| inches deep. 



In shape the eggs are broad ovals and have a fair amount of 

 gloss. In one clutch, the ground-colour is pale greenish-buff ; 



