36 AQUILINE. 



GENUS, Circaetus, Vieillot. 



Bill rather short, gently curving from the base, much hooked 

 at the tip ; culmen rounded, compressed at the sides ; commissure 

 nearly straight ; nostrils oval, oblique ; wings long, the third 

 quill longest, or second and third sub-equal, fourth nearly as 

 long, the first three quills emarginate ; tail long, nearly even ; tarsi 

 long, plumed below the heel, clad with small, hexagonal scales; 

 feet small ; toes short, scutellate at the base of the claws ; the 

 lateral toes about equal ; claws tolerably curved, rather short, of 

 nearly equal length. 



Circaetus gallicus, Gm. 



38, Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 76 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray 

 Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 446 ; Deccan, &c., Stray Feathers, Vol. 

 IX, p. 373; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 79; 

 Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; Ibis> 1885, p. 57 ; Hume's 

 Scrap Book, p. 217. 



THE COMMON SERPENT EAGLK 

 Jean le Blanc. 

 Sampmar, Hin. 



<$. Length, 2575; expanse, 70; tail, 1175; wing, 20'8 ; 

 tarsus, 37. 



$ . Length, 29 ; expanse, 76 ; tail, 13'25 ; wing, 22. 



Bill pale greyish-blue at the base, blackish horny at the tips ; 

 cere small, whitish, with a tinge of bluish-grey in places ; irides 

 deep yellow ; legs dirty pale yellow ; claws black. 



Young : head and nape whitish ; the feathers brown streaked ; 

 back and wings pale earthy-brown, lightest on the wing-coverts-; 

 quills dusky-black ; tail pale ashy-brown, with darker bands, and 

 the inner webs almost white ; beneath chin to breast fulvous, with 

 narrow longitudinal brown streaks ; from the breast to the vent 

 white, with a pale brown streak on the centre of each feather. 



The adult is darker brown above and on the head ; and the 

 lower parts white ; the feathers all marked with brown stripes, or 

 spots, tending to form a denser zone on the throat and breast. 



The head is large, full and puffy ; the feathers of the head 

 and neck rounded, not lanceolate ; the wings reach to the end of 

 the tail ; the inner edge of the centre claw is conspicuously 

 dilated into a cutting edge. 



This Eagle is known by several trivial names, one of the best 

 known being Jean-le-Blanc ; it was called the Common Serpent 

 Eagle, by J~erdon, on account of its penchant for snakes, to which 

 habit also it owes its Hindustani appellation ; it is also called 

 the Short-toed Eagb. 



It is found throughout the region, frequenting open plains, 

 but eschewing the more densely-wooded districts. It breeds 

 during the first three months of the year ; the nest is generally 

 built on trees, and is a large, loose, straggling structure, composed 



