AQUILINE. 29 



THE SPOTTED EAGLE. 



$. Length, 25 to 26'5 ; expanse, 60 to 64; wing, 19 to 20 ; 

 tail, 10'6 to 11 ; tarsus, 4 ; bill from gape, 2'3 to 27. 



? . Length, 27 to 28'5 ; expanse, 68 to 73 ; wing, 20 to 21 ; 

 tail, 11'5 to 12 ; tarsus, 4 to 4'25 ; bill from gape, 2'3 to 2'5. 



Cere, orbits, and feet dark yellow ; irides deep brown. 



Adult : richly empurpled brown on the scapulars, inter-scapu- 

 lars, and lesser wing-coverts ; the lanceolate feathers of the 

 head and neck somewhat lighter brown, streaked paler, and the 

 under parts generally lighter brown than the upper plumage ; 

 some larger and pure white spots on the greater wing-coverts, 

 and two white bars tipping the secondaries and greater-coverts, 

 as in A. mogilnik ; the tibial plumes similarly spotted ; the 

 under tail-coverts, and generally the short tarsal plumes, are 

 white ; and the abdomen is more or less streaked with fulvous. 



Young birds are pale brown throughout, lighter beneath ; and 

 in the intermediate plumage the feathers are dark, centred with 

 pale brown ; some have the plumage dark dull brown, with 

 dingy-white markings. 



The Spotted Eagle occurs throughout the district, frequenting 

 tanks and marshes, more especially the well-wooded parts. 



It is often seen in the early morning sitting in a slouching 

 kite -like attitude, half way up a tree. Its favorite food appears 

 to be frogs, but it does not disdain carrion. 



It breeds about May ; the nest is a large platform-like structure, 

 built generally in a fork, near the top of a high tree, in the vicinity 

 of water, and is composed of sticks and twigs. The eggs, one 

 or two in number, are blunt oval in shape, of a slightly yellowish 

 glossless white color, profusely spotted and blotched with faint 

 yellowish and purplish-brown. They measure 275 by 2. 



Aquila vindhiana, FmnU. 



29. A. fulvescens, Gray. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 

 60 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 446 ; Deccan, 

 Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 372 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology 

 of Sirid, p. 76 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis, p. 57 ; 

 Hume's Scrap Book, p. 173 



THE TAWNY EAGLE. 

 Wokhab, Hin. Dholwa, Wagree. 



c?. Length, 24 to 26; expanse, 60 to 66'5 ; wing, 18 to 21 ; 

 tail, 10 to 11 ; bill at gape, 2 to 2'25. 



? . Length, 27 to 28'5 ; expanse, 69 to 73'5 ; wing, 20 to 

 22-5 ; tail, 11 to 12 ; bill from gape, 2*25 to 2*5. 



Cere deep yellow ; irides hazel -brown ; feet yellow. 



Young bird, light fulvous, brightest on the head and throat, 

 changing to pale dingy-brown on the back and scapulars, and 

 to whitish-yellow beneath, with dark shafts; shoulders and 

 lesser-coverts pale whity-brown ; quills black ; tail dusky, with 

 faint dark bars. 



