OWLS AND DIURNAL BIRDS OF PREY. 349 
polygonal scales ; the toes and claws are short, the latter are 
not very much curved, The two Fishing Eagles rival in size 
the largest of our Hawk Eagles. The plumage is a combi- 
nation of white and gray or brown. The wing is long, broad, 
and rounded ; the bill is stout with a well-marked festoon : 
the tarsi and feet are very stout and powerful, the former are 
feathered in front for about one-third of the length. In the 
genus Haliaetus the outer toe is not reversible, but it is 
partially reversible in the genus Polioaetus. 
Rough Key to Group. 
A.—A thick bushy crest ; tarsus almost naked, and only 
moderately stout; plumage brown, the lower parts 
with white rounded spots. 
Sprlornis cheela (Crested Serpent Eagle). 
B.—No crest ; tarsus very stout and powerful, feathered in 
front for about one-third length. 
(1) Claws grooved beneath. 
Haliaetus leucogaster (White-bellied Sea Eagle). 
(2) Claws rounded beneath. 
Polioaetus ichthyaetus (Large Gray-headed Fishing . 
Kagle). 
SPILORNIS CHEELA (Blanford, Vol. III., p. 35). 
SPILORNIS SPILOGASTER (Legge, p. 61). 
The Crested Serpent Eagle. 
Description.—Adult : The feathers of the forehead, crown, 
crest, and hind-neck jet black with a very narrow tip of 
brown and a white base ; the lores naked, except for a few 
black bristles; the cheeks and ear coverts grayish-black ; 
upper parts dark brown with a purplish gloss ; smaller wing 
coverts blackish with a few small white spots at the tip ; wing 
quills blackish with some white patches at the base of the 
inner webs and with three broad bars, which are smoky- brown 
above and whitish below; basal half of tail smoky-brown, 
outer half blackish with a broad band of whitish brown and 
a pale tip. Lower parts earthy-hrown, lighter in some birds 
6 6(21)20 
