OWLS AND DIURNAL BIRDS OF PREY. 345 
on the tips of the feathers of the crown, hind-neck, and sides 
of neck; also similar pale drops or broad shaft-stripes on the 
lower plumage. The change to the adult plumage is gradual. 
Bill greenish-horny, the tip black; cere and gape citron- 
yellow ; iris dark brown ; legs gamboge-yellow. 
Males: length 27; wing 21°5; tail 13; mid-toe without 
claw 1:60; bill from gape 2. 
Females : length 31; wing 24; tail 14. 
Distribution.—Found on the hills and in low-country forest 
tracts. It occurs in the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago, 
on the Western Himalayas and Western Ghauts, on the hills 
south of Assam, and more rarely in Burma. 
Halits, &c.—A graceful long-winged bird, usually seen 
sailing over forests with a flight rather like that of a Harrier. 
It is known to kill such large game as jungle fowl, but also 
feeds on lizards, grasshoppers, &c. Unlike most birds of 
prey, it does not require an open space in which to swoop on 
its quarry, but will seize it even ir forest. It is, as a rule, 
a silent bird, but occasionally utters a shrill cry when soaring. 
The nest may be used for many years in succession, and is the 
usual large structure of sticks lined with green leaves and 
placed in a large tree.* Repairs start in October or November, 
and about Christmas time one or occasionally two eggs are 
laid. They vary a good deal in size, shap3, and the character 
of their markings, but most specimens are extremely hand- 
some. The ground colour is white or creamy, with large 
irregular blotches and specks of rich brown. In some speci- 
mens these markings are not so distinct, and the egg is more 
or less clouded with secondary markings of neutral tint or 
grayish-purple. Average size 2°45 by 1°95. 
SPIZAETUS CIRRHATUS (Blanford, Vol. III., p. 349). 
SPIZAETUS CEYLONENSIS (Legge, p. 55). 
The Crested Hawk Eagle. 
Description.—Adult : The whole head except the chin and 
throat, the sides of the neck, and the hind-neck tawny-brown, 


* The statement in Blanford and in Humes’ * Nests and Eggs ” that 
this species builds in the ledges of cliffs appears to be erroneous (vide 
‘« This,” January, 1918, p. 51). 
