ASSAM, SYLHET AND CACHAR. 9 



large bamboo stakes by which the fishermen keep their floating' 

 weed islands in position. I dare say I have seen twenty in 

 a morning, every one of which I could have shot from the 

 boat with heavy shot, as they never rose till one was within 

 40 yards of them, and often did not move though the boat 

 passed within 20 yards. 



These birds feed largely on fish and frogs, but are none 

 the less ready to pounce on wounded fowl or snipe, but I 

 never saw them endeavour to strike an unwounded bird, big 

 or little. 



I cannot find that any one has as yet procured this 

 species in any part of Assam, though it must necessarily occur 

 there. 



[Aquila, sp. — On several occasions I saw specimens of an 

 Eagle which might have been A. clanga, but never having 

 secured a specimen may be wrong in my supposition. — 

 J. K. C] 



It is not, I gather, common there, but occurs in both Upper 

 and Lower Pegu, and has been sent from Arakan. It may 

 occur in Northern and Central Tenasserim, but I have hither- 

 to failed to obtain any conclusive evidence of this. 



30.— Aquila hastata, Less. 



Three shot at the Logtak lake, and others (at least what 

 I believed to be this species) seen. But this is far less com- 

 mon than clanga, which is clearly the Eagle of the lake. 



This species has not yet been recorded from any part of 

 Burmah (except Arakan, whence Blyth notes it) or Assam^ 

 except a single specimen obtained by Godwin- Austen in the 

 Western Khasi hills, but this too will doubtless prove to be 

 generally distributed in Assam if not in Upper Burmah. 



In the drier upper portion of the valley I hunted a 

 small brown Eagle for nearly a whole day but failed to obtain it. 

 I believe it to have been 31 — Hieraetus pennatus, Gm., and 

 though this has not as yet been procured in any part of Assam, 

 it occurs sparingly both in the dry upper portions of Pegu 

 and in the dry plains portions of Tenasserim bordering on 

 Pegu. 



32. — Neopus malayensis, Reinw. 



By no means uncommon in the Manipur hills generally, 

 but still very sparingly diffused, so that I often and often 

 marched for a week without seeing one, and never saw more 

 than a pair on any one day. 



The long fan-like tail and the peculiar fashion it has of 

 quartering a hill side give this bird a very Harrier-like 



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