172 Lieut. C. G. Finch-Davies on [Ibis, 



oldest and best Soutb African field ornitbologists. There- 

 fore this Hawk-Eagle must in future be known as 



Hieraaetus ayresi Gurney. Ayres^s Hawk-Eagle. 

 (PI. III.) 

 Description. Adult female. Feira, Zambezi, 26. ii. lOOk 

 Head, including crest If inches long, and cheeks black, 

 the bases of all the feathers white, a few wbite streaks on 

 the cheeks next the throat, tbe black of the head gradually 

 fadincT into dark sepia-brown on the mantle. Tiie earliest 

 scapulars white, forming a shoulder-patch, as in H. pennatus. 

 The rest of the scapulars dark brown, with more or less 

 concealed brownish-grey spots or bars towards the base, the 

 extreme bases white. Primaries black at tips, hoary grey 

 on outer web towards base, inner webs white barred with 

 i)rownish black. Secondaries greyish brown, barred with 

 brownish black, and with whitish tips ; wing-coverts dark 

 brown tipped with whitish, the greater series showing 

 greyish bars. Under surface of wings white, spotted with 

 black. Throat and whole under surface of body white heavily 

 marked with brownish black, more in the form of streaks on 

 the throat and in the shape of spade-shaped markings and 

 bars on the sides of the breast and flanks. The thighs the 

 same but the markings browner. The tarsi streaked. Under 

 tail-coverts white with subterminal bar of dark brown, and 

 a second bar of the same colour about halfway towards base. 

 Upper tail-coverts dark brown, with whitish bars at tips. 

 Tail grey, tipped with white, and with a broad subterminal 

 bar and four narrower bars of brownish black. 



Bill blue-grey tipped with black ; cere and feet yellow ; 

 irides yellow. 



Length 22 inches, wing 16, tail 9, culmen 1, tarsus 2|. 

 Gurney^s original description of S. ayresi describes a 

 young bird perfectly. 



I will now try to point oat the characters by which this 

 species can be distinguished from H. spilogaster, but before 

 doing so I would like to mention that, although I have only 

 been able so far to examine five specimens of H. ayresi, 



