20 MR. A. ANDERSON ON THE [Jan. 5, 
While the long, slender tarsi, diminutive bill, and more game- 
looking appearance of A. virgatus is sufficient to separate it from its 
plebeian ally Micronisus badius, the coloration of the upper plumage 
in the young birds of both species is very similar indeed, being what 
I should call the rufous-brown stage. All the feathers on the mantle 
are of a rich brown colour, tipped and edged with dark rufous, the 
edgings being broader in A. virgatus than in M. badius; the former 
differs also in having four broad caudal bands, while the latter has 
five or six narrow ones. 
The under plumage of the two juvenile birds is very different in 
A. virgatus: trom the chin to the vent it is a rich buff colour (Jerdon 
calls it white), the feathers of the neck, breast, and abdomen having 
longitudinal drops of reddish brown; the flanks and tibial plumes 
are broadly barred with the same colour; in M. badius the under- 
parts are white, each feather having a central stripe of brown. 
The plumage of the adult birds of both species differs in toto: the 
Darjeeling specimen has the head and back of a slaty black colour, 
the collar and tail being of a smoky brown; there are four caudal 
bands of the same hue as the head; the under plumage is white, 
broadly barred with bright ferruginous: the adult Shikra has the 
mantle of a light ashy grey ; and the underparts are minutely barred 
with rufescent or fawn-coloured marks. 
The bill in 4. virgatus is very dark, almost black, the cere dark 
greenish yellow; in M. dadius the bill is horny blue, and the cere 
yellow, without any green; the legs and feet in the former are green- 
ish yellow, the back of the tarsi and soles being yellow; in the lat- 
ter these are yellow without any tinge of green. The subjoined ta- 
ble of measurements of an immature male of each species will be 
found useful :— 
Foot, 
greatest greatest 
Species. Length. Wing. ‘ail. Tarsus. length. breadth. 
in. in. in in. in, in 
Accipiter virgatus 10°5 6°3 5°3 2°1 2°6 2°3 
Micronisus badius 12-0 70 6:0 1°8 2°6 2°1 
27. AQuILA MOGILNIK, J. G. Gmel. (=A. crassipes, Hodg. 
MS.*). 
On the 8th of March last I procured a third example of the Hastern 
Imperial Eagle in the transitional stage, a huge female of the fol- 
lowing dimensions:—Length 32°5; wing 23°5; tail 13; expanse 
7 feet ; tarsus 4°2, thence to end of mid claw, along the curve, 4:1, 
outer claw as above 3°2, inner claw 3:8, hind claw 3°6 ; expanse of 
foot (length) 6°5, (breadth) 5°5 ; bill along curve 3; height of both 
mandibles at base 1:2, width at gape 2:2. Weight just over 9 lb. 
This specimen, while yet in the striated stage, has several rectrices of 
the adult bird, and the breast has assumed a black-brown appearance 
in patches. In the course of a very short time this bird would have 
become exactly similar to No. 4 of Mr. Dresser’s series (see his 
* Cf. ‘This’ for 1873 p. 99. 
