Notes oil tJie Parroqiiets of India. 331 



have identified with our Indian Aq. Jiastata. If Mr. Gurney 

 reads Brisson^s description carefully over^ he cannot apply it to 

 that small eag-le, and pronounce it to be " the true A. noavla 

 of the old authors/^ 



In the identification of Aquila orientalis with Aq. hifaseiata ; 

 of Aq. hastata with the small Pomeranian eagle, of the Bospho- 

 rus eag-le (thought to be Aq. .nmvioides by Mr. Gurney) with 

 Aq. (5 j/«5ci^i5<3J, and jf. the two Turkish spotted eagles, with our 

 Indian Aq. ncevia, I am not alone, but am confirmed by Dr. 

 Stoliczka, Mr. V. Ball, and Captain G. F. L. Marshall who have 

 carefully examined the different series which were used. 



If, after all, it turns out that the immature of the Pomeranian 

 spotted eagle are distinct from those of Aq. hastata, it will be one 

 of tlie most wondei-ful of ornithological facts ; but since the im- 

 mature lineated Imperial eagle was for ages overlooked and said 

 not to occur in Europe, so also immature Aquila hastata may 

 turn up plentifully some of these days in Europe. 



P. P. S. — With reference to priority of terms, Brisson gives 

 a list of authors quoted, with dates of publication. Schwenck- 

 feld''s work is dated 1603, and Klein^s 1750. Aquila navia is 

 therefore much the older term for the spotted eagle, and Aquila 

 clanga, Klein, is but a synonym. I did not notice the list of 

 authors till after I had sent my paper. 



Sates m % farrjjpcts 0f %M%, 



By Capt Thomas Button, C. M. Z, S., 8fc. 



Notwithstanding all that has been said and written regarding 

 the parroquets of Continental India, — notwithstanding the long 

 lapse of years since the time of iHexander the Great, by whose 

 followers they are said to have been introduced into Greece after 

 that warrior^s remarkable expedition from India to Ceylon, it is 

 still a melancholy fact that every writer on these birds persists 

 in giving PalcBornis Alexandri, a place in our Continental fauna. 

 A few would restrict it as a rather rare species to Ceylon, others 

 declare it to be exceedingly abundant in some parts of that 

 Island ; some again declare it to be scattered all over India, 

 while others state it to be a very local species capriciously cling- 

 ing to one, and avoiding other districts. 



It is nearly certain, however, that the Indian bird described by 

 Blyth, Jerdon, and a host of other observers, is totally distinct 

 from the Ceylon bird, but so prone have been our Indian 

 Naturalists to put their trust in some great leader who literally 

 knew no more than they did themselves^ that one after another 



