46 FALCONID^E. 



mon in the Panjab (Shaharunpur District). Breeds throughout the sub- 

 Himalayan ranges and regions as far west as Kangra at heights from 2,500 

 to 5,500 feet above the sea level, laying in March, April and May. Nest 

 usually in the vicinity of water, built in the fork of a tree, circular, loosely 

 made of sticks and twigs lined with fresh leaves and roots of grass. Eggs 

 usually one in number, mottled and streaked with dingy brick-red and 

 .blood-red ; ground colour white. Size 2-8 x 2*25 inches. Mr. Hume, in his 

 Rough Notes, gives a good compiled account of the nidification of this 

 species. 



42. SpilomiS melanotiS, Jerd. Madras 7o//r.xiii. p. 165 Sharpe, 

 Cat. Ace. B. M. p. 289, Sub-sp. a; Davison and Wenden, Stray F. vol. vii. 

 sp. 74 ; Ball. id. p. 199 ; Vidal, Stray F. ix. p. 33 ; Butler, id. ix. p. 373 

 Hsematornis spilogaster, Bly. J. A. S. JB. xvi. p. 351. Spilornis spilogaster, 

 Blanf. J. A. S. JB. 1871, p. 270. Spilornis davisoni, Hume, Stray F. i. pp. 

 305, 422 ; id. iv. pp. 281, 358. Spilornis rutherfordi, Swinli. Ibis, 1870^.85 ; 

 id. P. Z. S. 1871 ; Wald. Ibis, 1870, p. 298. Spilornis bacha, Holds, (non Le 

 Vaill) P. Z. S. 1872, p. 412. The SOUTHERN or LESSER HARRIER EAGLE. 



Similar to Spilornis cheela, but smaller. 



Cere, orbital skin, and legs yellow ; irides orange ; bill bluish, black at the 

 tip. The following are comparative measurements of this species and S. cheela 

 in inches. 



S. cheela. S. melanotis. 



Adult. Adult. 



Length 28 to 30 24 to 26. 



Wing 18-5 to 20*5 15 to 16*8 



Tail 12 to 13 io'8 to 12-5 



Tarsus 4-15*0 4'S 3'65 to 375 



Hab. Central and Southern India, the Andamans to Ceylon and China. 

 Occurs in both Northern and Southern Concans, the Deccan, Travancore, 

 Raipoor, and other localities in the Central Provinces from the Ganges to the 

 Godavery, Orissa, and also in Lower Bengal. 



The Lesser Harrier Eagle affects marshy and hilly forest tracts, especially 

 where there are rice and other cereal cultivations. It feeds chiefly on frogs, 

 mice, and small birds. The only record of its nidification is in a paper in 

 S- F. by Mr. Vidal on the Birds of the South Concan. Two nests were taken 

 by him during March, and the eggs in his possession measured respectively 

 275 x 2-25 inches and 2-65 x 2-12 inches. They are said to be broad ovals, 

 slightly pointed at the smaller end, white, streaked all over with reddish 

 brown, and with a confluent cap of the same shade at the large end, 



43. Spilornis pallidus, Wald. Ibis, 1872. p, 363, Spilornis cheela, 

 Wall. Ibis, 1868, p. 15 ; Hume, Stray F. iv. 281 j id. vii. p. 513 ; id* viiL 

 p. 44. The PALE HARRIER EAGLE. 



