ASSAM, SYLHET AND CACHAR. 11 



have obtained it ia the same range of hills lower down in 

 the Malay Peninsula. 



It is noteworthy that, with Spilornis cheela along the 

 southern flanks of the Himalayas right up to Sadiya and 

 S. rutherfordi in the valley of Assam,* in the Khasi hills 

 and N.-E. Cachar, with cheela again at Thyetrayo and Tonghoo 

 in Upper British Burmah and rutherfordi throughout the 

 rest of that province, I failed to see or hear (and the wild 

 querulous cry is recognisable at a distance of half a mile) 

 any species of Spilornis anywhere in Manipur. It seems in- 

 credible, for the southern half, at any rate, of the basin seems 

 exceptionally suited to their tastes, but yet had any been there 

 I must surely, constantly and especially on the look-out 

 for this genus as I was, have either seen or heard it, and I am 

 pretty confident that no species of this genus occurs there, 

 at any rate during February and the three succeeding months. 



40.— Pandion haliaetus, Zin. 



I first shot this at the Logtak lake, where there were several 

 pairs, but after this I saw it about several of the larger 

 rivers in the Western hills and about two of the larger 

 streams of the Eastern hills near their debouch into the 

 basin. I also shot one in the Imphal Turail, just below its 

 junction with the Chakpee, the southernmost point of Manipur 

 to which I was allowed to penetrate. 



In Assam I have only received this species from N.-E. 

 Cachar, but I know that it occurs elsewhere in that province. 



[Found in the Dibrugarh district along the Brahmaputra 

 and other large rivers, even where their banks are densely 

 wooded. — J. R 0.] 



In British Burmah it is generally distributed in suitable 

 localities, but it appears to be scarce, except perhaps in Arakan. 



Again it is remarkable that I met with no species of 

 Polioaetus. In Assam the large 41 — P. ichthyaetus, Horsf., 

 occurs in the Himalayas, the Garo and Khasi hills and even the 

 N.-E. Cachar hills.f From the latter, too, I have received a 

 specimen of the diminutive 4<lter. — P. humilis, S. Mull, and 

 Schl., and its more robust northern form 4l6^s. — P. plumbeus, 

 Hodgs., which latter Godwin- Austen obtained from the Naga 



* [39^er. — Spilornis rutherfordi, Swinh. — Very common, frequenting cultiva- 

 tion and thin jungle. The dimensions of a female were : Length, 24'75 ; expanse, 

 58-0; tail, 11'40; wing, 17'50; tarsus, 4"0; bill from gape, 1'74. They are 

 permanent residents. — J. R, C] 



t And also in the valley itself. Cripps says— • 



[Polioaetus ichthyaetus, Horsf. — In Dibrugarh, this specis principally affeota 

 the well-wooded banks of rivers, and, though not rare, is not near so commou as 

 H. leucoryphus. It ia a permanent resident.— J. R. C] 



