420 Mr. J. Scully on the 



wing 25, tail 15-2, tarsus 4, mid toe 3'2_, bill from gape 2'55 ; 

 weight 7 lb. 3 oz. ; irides dull yellow. 



15. NisAETUS PENNATus (Gmeliu) . 



The Booted Eagle is a summer visitor to Gilgit, and is 

 common from the middle of March to the first week in Oc- 

 tober ; it breeds at an elevation of 5000 feet. The dark and 

 light forms are about equally common, the difference in colour 

 not being dependent upon sex. The iris seems to be variable 

 in colour, some having it buff marked with darker spots, 

 others orange, and one brownish yellow. In four males the 

 wings varied in length from 14'3 to 15"3 inches; in two 

 females they measured 15 7 and 16"5 ; a male weighed ] lb. 

 10 oz., and a female 2 lb. 9 oz. A nestling, captured on the 

 12tli July, had the underparts pale. 



16. Pandion haliaetus (Linn.). 



The Osprey is not common in Gilgit, and probably occurs 

 there only on migration. It has been observed throughout 

 March and during the first week in April, and again in Sep- 

 tember on its way southwards. I never saw it in winter. A 

 male shot on the 16th September measured — length 22 

 inches, wing 17'7, tail 9, tarsus 2'1, bill from gape 1*5; the 

 closed wings extended half an inch beyond the tip of the tail. 

 In this specimen the feathers of the upper surface are mar- 

 gined with white, the bars on the tail are distinct, and the 

 mottling on the breast is mostly fulvous. 



17. BuTEo EEROX (Gmcliu) . 



I preserved 17 specimens of this Buzzard in Gilgit ; but my 

 series leaves me still greatly in the dark as to the explanation 

 of the perplexing variations in size and plumage of this species. 

 In the adults the males havethewinglG' 15 to 17'4inches, length 

 of tarsus 2-8 to 3'4, bare portion of tarsus in front I'l to 1-7 ; 

 in the females, wing 17-2 to 18*4, tarsus 3 to 3-3, bare portion 

 of tarsus 1*2 to 1 '6. The smallest female has thedimensions con- 

 siderably below what is given ioxB.ferox; but there is no doubt 

 about the determination of the sex, and it cannot be referred 

 to any other species. The colour of the iris is very variable, 

 ranging from brown to yellowish cream-colour. In plumage 



