Crested Eagles 243 



material. It is generally rather flat on top and on a bed of green leaves rest the 

 one to three large eggs. On the plains of India the nesting season, according to 

 Hume, is December and January, while in the Himalayas it is sometimes as late 

 as April or May. Very similar to this and sometimes confounded with it is the 

 African Hawk-Eagle (E. spilogaster}, which ranges throughout tropical Africa. 

 It is slightly smaller, with considerably shorter wing, and differs in plumage in 

 the absence of bands on the under side of the primaries, and in white instead of 

 blackish under wing-coverts. Its flight is described as heavy, though when once 

 it has risen to a certain height it soars powerfully. Its food is similar to that 

 of its relative, consisting of small mammals, birds, and poultry. Much smaller 

 is the Dwarf or Booted Hawk-Eagle (E. pennatus), the male being only about 

 nineteen inches long 'and the female about twenty-four. It is subject to con- 

 siderable variation in the color of the plumage, especially of the under parts, 

 there being a light and dark phase, but may be distinguished by the whitish patch 

 on the shoulder. The Booted Eagle is widely distributed, ranging from southern 

 Russia and the Mediterranean countries over Africa, and central Asia to the 

 Indian peninsula and Ceylon. It frequents woods and cultivated fields, and is 

 often found about towns and villages, and is said to commit serious depredations 

 on the poultry yard and dove-cote, but otherwise feeding on squirrels, rats, and 

 other small mammals and birds. This bird breeds in southern Europe as well 

 as in Africa and India, though mainly a winter visitor in the latter country. The 

 nest is similar to that of its near relatives and the eggs, usually two, are greenish 

 white, sparingly marked. The fourth species is the Little Eagle (E. morphnoides] 

 of Australia, a form closely allied to the last. 



Crested Eagles. - Passing over a number of small, relatively unimportant 

 genera, we come to the large group of so-called Crested Ea,g\es(Spizaetus), although 

 the crest is not quite always present. They are found in Central and South 

 America and the central and southern parts of the Old World, being birds of 

 moderate size with a short, much-curved bill, short, rounded wings, and long, 

 nearly square tail. The tarsus is long, slender, and feathered throughout, while 

 the toes are large, but not long, and unequal in size, the hind claw being largest. 

 They are in general birds of the forest and are more frequently observed flying 

 among the trees than above them, and they rarely soar. Of the sixteen or more 

 species described we may mention especially the Indian Crested Eagle (5. cir- 

 rhatus), in which the male and female are respectively twenty-six and twenty- 

 nine inches in length. They are umber-brown above and have the breast white 

 with large spots and the abdomen and under tail-coverts brownish white. The 

 crest is from four to six inches long, black, and except in very old birds tipped 

 with white. They are often seen perched on trees watching for their prey of 

 hares, Partridges, young Peafowl, and Jungle-fowl, on which they pounce. The 

 nest, a large structure placed on a high tree, is lined with green leaves, on which 

 the single egg is laid. Very similar to this species in coloration is the Changeable 

 Crested Eagle (S. limnaetus), but differing from it in having no crest or only a 

 rudimentary one. Its habits are similar to those of the last. 



The striking African Crested Eagle, while closely allied to the last group, has 



