Generic Names of certain Eayles. 289 



two species, N. nipalensis and N. grandis, tlie latter being a 

 synonym of Aguilafasciata v. bonellii, but on the plate (pi. vii.) 

 accompanying Hodgson's paper the title runs '' Nisaetus nipa- 

 lensis, type of the new genus Nisaetus." Now N. nipalensis is 

 a Spizaetus, or a Limnaetus if the Oriental species are placed 

 in a distinct genus, and both these generic names have priority- 

 over Nisaetus. Had not Hodgson specially designated N. 

 nipalensis, it would have been perfectly permissible to make 

 N. grandis [Aquila fasciata) the type of his genus, but under 

 the circumstances this cannot be done, and the name Nisaetus 

 becomes a synonym. The earliest generic name for Bonelli's 

 Eagle is, I think, Eutolmaetus, Blyth (Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, 

 xiv. p. 174, 1845), but some naturalists are disposed to unite 

 Bonelli's with the Booted Eagle [A.pennata], the type of 

 Hieraetus, and the two birds are certainly allied. 



4. The Generic Name of the Black Eagle (Falco 

 malayensis, Reinvj.). 



This remarkable form appears to have actually received 

 two generic names in what is virtually the same paper, one pub- 

 lished by Mr. B. H. Hodgson in ISIS (Journ, As. Soc. Bengal, 

 xii. p. 128) with a postscript by Blyth. Hodgson proposed 

 the generic name of Heteropus for the bird previously de- 

 scribed by him as Aquila pernigra. In the postscript Blyth 

 mentioned that this same bird had been named by Jerdon 

 first Nisaetus ovivorus, with a double mark of doubt as to 

 the genus, and then Ictinaetus ovivorus. The species has 

 long been known by its earliest title malayensis, published by 

 Temminck in the 'Planches coloriees.' 



Subsequently, in 1844, Hodgson discarded the name 

 Heteropus, which had been previously applied to various 

 genera of insects, and adopted the term Neopus (Gray^'s Zool. 

 Misc. p. 81), which has been generally used since, even by 

 Jerdon himself in his ' Birds of India.' The only important 

 exception is that Blyth, in his Catalogue and J. A. S. B. xv. 

 p. 7, used Ictinaetus, as it appears to me, justly, for this 

 generic name appeared a year before Neopus did. I think, 

 therefore, that the Black Eagle should be called Ictinaetus 

 malayensis. 



