1871.] RAPTORIAL BIRDS OF INDIA. 687 



Mr. Hume alludes to a " buffy stage"*, described from a bird in 

 that plumage, which was shot by Mr. Brooks; but this has since 

 been referred to the first stage of A. ncevioides. 



That the latter gentleman was fully convinced that in this light- 

 coloured bird he had a vara avis will be seen from the concluding 

 remarks made by Mr. Hume when describing the Spotted Eaglef, 

 as also from Mr. Brooks's letter to 'The Ibis,' where he says, "I 

 am now sure that this pure buff-and-grey plumage is a perfect one, 

 that of an adult bird, and that this Eagle is quite distinct from A. 

 ncEvia," &c.% 



Mr. Brooks's supposition, however, as to maturity was a mistake, 

 as a moulting specimen since obtained distinctly proves. 



28 bis. AauiLA ncevioides, Cuv. (The Tawny Eagle.) 



It is with no little pride that I am able to add two specimens of 

 this rare and interesting Eagle to the few that have already been 

 procured in this country. 



We are indebted to the gentleman whose name has already ap- 

 peared pretty frequently in these notes for having added this very 

 fine bird to the Indian list. A brief history regarding the few ex- 

 amples as yet obtained in this country may not be out of place. 

 The first specimen, a very pale buff" bird, was shot by Mr. Brooks 

 in the cold season of 1866-67; and this is the type of Mr. Hume's 

 first stage of A. ncevia. Subsequently Mr. Brooks procured seven, 

 of which a moulting bird was shot in Pillibeet by Mr. Yeatman, 

 making in all eight specimens. Two of these were exhibited by 

 Dr. Tristram at this Society's Meeting in Jan. 1870 §, two are now 

 in Mr. Hume's museum, aud the remaining four are in Mr. Brooks's 

 collection. 



On my arrival in India, my earnest attention was given to this 

 matter ; and my labours have so far been crowned with success. To 

 the above number I can add two birds, male and female, in a yellow- 

 ochreous stage. My first introduction to A. ncevioides is solely attri- 

 butable to an accident : would that such mishaps were of more fre- 

 quent occurrence ! I had missed my camp one morning, and was 

 driving along the canal, when a yellow-looking Eagle rose from a 

 dry grass bed and settled a little ahead of me, in the dense fringe of 

 jungle trees which grow so luxuriantly along the canal-banks. 



My second bird (the female), strange to say, was got very much 

 in the same way. After my first success I stuck to the canal, riding 

 and driving frequently twenty miles a day along the banks, and getting 

 every thing that could be expected, save and except A. ncevioides. 

 I was just about to leave that part of the country in utter despair, 

 when my patience was again rewarded. On this occasion I actually 

 drove under the babool tree where the bird was sitting. It was 

 latish in the evening, and the rays of the setting sun made the 

 Eagle have a golden-yellow appearance. From the little I have 

 seen of this bird, and judging from the fact that all of those that 

 have been procured were shot in the vicinity of jheels, there is 



* Rough Notes, pt. i. p. 164. f Rough Notes, pt. i. p. 172. 



\ Ibis for 1870, p. 290. § P. Z. S. 1870, p. 4. 



Proc. Zool. Soc— 1871, No. XL1Y. 



