On the Scientific Names of certain Eagles. 283 



No. 3. Flekkefjord, 15th Dec, 1875. Christiania Museum. 



No. 4. Tromso, 13tli Dec, 1892. Christiania Museum. 



No. 5. Ncesodden, Christiania fjord, 24th Christiania Museum. 



Nov., 1893. 



No. 6. Porsangerfjord, Finmark, SthDec, Christiania Museum. 



1893. 



B. Young, one year old (summer) . 

 No. 7. Kjelno, Varanger, 23rd June, 1891. Christiania Museum. 

 (List continued, p. 281.) 



XXI. — On the Scientific Names of the Imperial and Spotted 

 Eagles and on the Generic Names of Bonelli's Eagle and 

 the Black Eagle. By W. T. Blanford, F.R.S. 



1. The Imperial Eagle. 



Falco mogihdk of S. G. Gmelin (Nov. Comm. Petrop. xv. 

 1770, p. 445, pi. xi. b) lias for the last fcAv years been quoted 

 by so many writers as the oldest name of the Imperial Eagle 

 found in Central and Eastern Europe and Northern Africa, 

 and throughout a great part of Asia, that I was greatly 

 surprised, on comparing the bird with the original description 

 and figure, to find how extremely doubtful the identification 

 is. Of course this might have been expected from the circum- 

 stance that Dr. Bowdler Sharpe (Cat, Birds B. M. i. p. 240, 

 1874) has identified one species with Gmelin^s. name, whilst 

 Mr. Dresser (' Birds of Europe,' pt. 19, 1873) has identified 

 another, but the two species had almost up to the dates 

 mentioned been supposed by ornithologists in general to be 

 the same Eagle in different plumages. The Eagle referred 

 to Falco mogilnik by Dr. Sharpe is that now known as the 

 Steppe Eagle, Aquila bifasciata of J. E. Gray (not of Brehm) 

 = A. nipalensis of Hodgson. The species to which the name 

 was applied by Mr. Dresser is the well-known Imperial Eagle 

 {A. heliaca, Sav., and A. imperialis, Bechst.). 



Dr. Sharpens identification of S. G. Gmeliu's Falco 

 mogilnik has not met with general acceptation, but 

 Mr. Dresser's view, which was also that of the late 

 Mr. Gurney, has been extensively adopted, especially by 



