THE EAGLE-LIKE SUBFAMILY 



1983 



quills being less than the length of the metatarsus; and they are further character- 

 ized by the absence of a crest. The hawk eagles have the metatarsus of considerable 

 length, but of no great thickness, and their wings are as a rule proportionately 

 shorter than in the true eagles; while there are generally more large scales on 

 the upper surface of the toes than in the latter. The most sure way of distinguish- 

 ing between the two genera, according to Dr. Sharpe, is by comparing the length 



BONEUJ'S HAWK EAGI.E. 

 (One-sixth natural size.) 



of the fourth toe, measured from the commencement of the metatarsal feathers, 

 and exclusive of the claw, with the circumference of the beak in front of the 

 cere; when it will be found that whereas in the hawk eagles the two diameters 

 are equal, in the true eagles the former is less than the latter. The range of the 

 hawk eagles includes Africa, the north coast of the Mediterranean, India, Ceylon, 

 and Australia. Among the small number of species constituting this genus, the 



