8. Haliastue. 35 



Haliastur iudiis, vai-. leucocephalus, Rarmiij, Proc. Linn. Soc, N.S. ]V., 

 vol. i, p. 3G9 (1S76). 



Haliastur indas, var. girrencra, }!':tmsai/, Proc. Linn. Soc, X.S.W., 

 vol. ii, 2nd ser., p. 1G6 (18SS). 



Haliastur indus, subsp. girrenera, Hamsay, .Tab. List Austr. Bdt.. p. I 



(ISSS) ; Xorth, XcsU and L<ji/s Au.str. Bds., p. 8 (1S89). 

 Haliastur indus girrenera, Ilarterf, Nor. ZooL, vol. iii, p. 248 (189G). 



Adult male. The whole of the heid, ueck, chest, and breast 

 snowy white, the tips of the primaries above past the notch 

 black, belovT black, shaded in certain lights with brown along 

 the shaft, which is white at the base; tips of the tail above white, 

 which extends more over the centre two and adjacent feathers, 

 the outer two on either side with no white, the next to them 

 Avith only a wash white round the margin of the tips, under sur- 

 face of the tail, except the afore-mentioned Avhite tipped portions 

 light cinnamon red ; the secondaries and base of the primaries 

 rich cinnamon red ; the remainder of the upper and under sur- 

 face bright, rich, deep chestnut (or deep maroon chestnut) ; cere, 

 legs, and feet yellow ; bill light horn colour, bluish lead-colour 

 at the base. Total length, 1S"5 inches, wing 15'3, tail 7 7, tarsus 

 2 inches. 



Adult female. Similar to the male, but slightly larger. Total 

 length 21 inches, wing 15'5, tarsus, 2'3, tail S'G. 



Young. Head and neck dull creamy white, washed with brown 

 at the base and along the margins of the feathers, giving to these 

 parts a striped appearance ; face brown ; throat and chest 

 whitish ; bi'east light rufous-brown, streaked with ashy-white 

 down the centre of each feather ; abdomen, thighs, and under 

 tail-coverts dtiU white, margined with light rufous-brown ; 

 primaries blackish-brown, secondaries washed with rufous, 

 becoming white at the tips ; tail rufous-brown, tipped with 

 whitish. 



Remark. In some specimens the primary coverts above, nearest 

 the margin of the shoulders have a black shaft-stripe and remains 

 of black cross-bars, the latter also are noticeable on the inner 

 webs of some of the inner primaries and inner secondaries, and 

 on the tail feathers. The plumes covering the flanks, and the 

 feathers at the upper joint of the thighs also, are occasionally 

 white, as well as the small feathers at the base of the scapulars ; 

 the smaller scapulars have occasionally black shaft-lines and also 

 transverse bars of black on their concealed portions, basal por- 

 tions white. These facts will assist in bearing out Mr Sharpe's 

 opinion, with which I entirely coincide, that the Australian bird 

 {Haliastur girrenera) cannot be admitted to hold full specific 

 rank, but with Haliastur intermedias (Gurney) must be con- 

 sidered a fixed variety of the Indian Fish-Hawk {Haliastur indus). 



D 



