Mr. Layard's * Birds of South Africa.* 139 



14. Spizaetus coronatus (Linn.). Crowned Hawk-Eagle. 



As Mr. Layard says, with regard to this species, that he knows 

 " nothing of its habits or range," I may remark that in Western 

 Africa it extends as far north as Senegal ; but in Eastern 

 Africa I am not aware that it has been observed further north 

 than Natal, where Mr. Ayres has known it to attack various 

 kinds of prey — in one instance a large monkey, in a second 

 a Cochin fowl and a small pig, and in a third a hen Turkey 

 (Cy. Ibis, 1861, p. 129, and 1863, p. 331). 



18. CiRCAETUs PECTORALis, A. Smith. Black-breasted 

 Harrier-Eagle. 



Sir A. Smith's name has priority of publication over Cuvier's 

 Falco thoracicus, under which specific Mr. Layard includes it. He 

 mentions this species as being "destructive to young lambs;" 

 but, from the circumstance of Mr. Ayres only finding snakes 

 and lizards in the stomachs of those which he examined (Ibis, 

 1859, p. 238, and 1860, p. 203) I suspect that, like its northern 

 congener, 6'. gallicus, it is usually reptilivorous. I have little 

 doubt that the monkey- and cat-eating Eagle mentioned by 

 Mr. Layard as " probably of this species " was in fact an example 

 of Spizaetus bellicosus (No. 15) in the adult plumage, figured by 

 Sir A. Smith (111. Zool. S. Afr., Aves, pi. 42). 



CiRCAETUS FASCiOLATUs, Gray. Banded Harrier-Eagle. 



This species, though omitted from Mr. Layard's Catalogue, 

 is undoubtedly distinct, and is easily recognizable, being the 

 smallest species of the genus Circaetus in its restricted form — 

 that is, excluding the genus Spilornis, which Mr. Layard (unad- 

 visedly, as I venture to think) combines with it in treating of 

 Spilornis hacha. 



Circaetus fasciolatus appears to be very rare; and I have only 

 seen three examples of it, which were all obtained in the Colony 

 of Natal. One of these had been feeding on Termites (Ibis, 

 1861, p. 130). This specimen is figured in ' The Ibis ' for 1862 

 (pi. iii.), and is preserved in the Norwich Museum, which also 

 possesses a second example. The type-specimen is in the 

 British Museum. 



