POLIOAfiTUS. 371 



not west of Delhi, nor in Sind, and rare to the southward. This 

 species occurs also in Ceylon, throughout Burma, and in the Malay 

 Peninsula and Islands as far as Java, Celebes, and the Philippines. 

 Habits, $c. This Fishing-Eagle haunts wooded rivers, large 

 lakes, and backwaters, but is seldom found on the sea-coast. It 

 has a peculiar deep resounding call, repeated three or four times. 

 It lives chiefly on fish, which it swoops upon in its flight, not 

 pouncing down on them like an Osprey, but it will, Jerdon says, 

 occasionally carry off a wounded bird. Legge says that it seldom 

 soars or takes long flights ; it is commonly seen perched on a tree 

 near water. It breeds from December to March, builds an 

 immense nest of sticks, and lays two or three greyish-white eggs, 

 measuring about 2*68 by 2'09. 



1227. Polioaetus humilis. Hodgson's Fishing-Eagle. 



Haliaetus plumbeus, Hodys. J. A. S. B. vi, p. 367 (1837), descr. 



nulla. 

 Falco humilis, Mutter # Sclileg. Verhandl, Aves, p. 47, pi. 6 (1839- 



44). 



Ichthyaetus nanus, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xi, p. 202 (1842) ; xii, p. 304. 

 Pontoaetus nanus, Blyth, Cat. p. 30. 

 Pandion humilis, Horsf. fy M. Cat. i, p. 54. 

 Polioaetus plumbeus, Jerdon, Ibis, 1871, p. 336 ; Hume, N. 8? E. 



p. 43; A. Anderson, S. F. iii, p. 385; id. P.Z.8. 1876, p. 777, 



pi. Ixxxii ; Godw.-Aust. J. A. S. B. xlv, pt. 2, p. 192 ; Brooks, 



Yarkand Miss., Aves, p. 8. 

 Polioaetus humilis, Brooks, J. A. S. B. xli, pt. 2, p. 73 ; Sharpe, Cat. 



B. M. i, p. 454; Hume, S. F. v, p. 130 ; ix, p. 244 ; xi, p. 11 ; 



id. Cat. no. 41 ter; Oates, B. B. ii, p. 223. 

 Haliaetus humilis, Hume $ Dav. S. F. vi, p. 17. 



Coloration. Head and neck all round ashy, browner on the 

 crown and nape ; remainder of upper parts dark brown, the quills 

 blackish; the middle tail-feathers brown throughout, generally 

 darker on the last third and with pale tips ; of the other tail- 

 feathers the basal two-thirds are mottled brown and white, 

 especially on the inner webs, and lighter beneath ; breast ashy 

 brown, more ashy in older birds ; the feathers of the head, neck, 

 upper back, and breast more or less distinctly dark-shafted; 

 abdomen and lower tail-coverts white. 



Young birds are paler brown ; they want the grey on the head, 

 and the breast-feathers have white shafts and ends. 



Upper mandible blue-black; cere, gape, and lower mandible 

 leaden blue ; irides bright yellow ; legs and feet white, washed with 

 leaden blue ; claws black (A. Anderson). 



Length of a Himalayan female 24-5 ; tail 9*2; wing 17-5; tarsus 

 3-1 ; bill from gape 1/7. Males very little smaller. Specimens 

 from Assam and Cachar have generally a wing of 16 to 17 inches ; 

 Malay birds are much smaller. 



