356 A FIRST LIST OF THE BIRDS — 
from root to point, 1°45 ; mid toe, 1°72; its claw straight from 
root to point, 1:08; outer toe, 1:1; its claw straight, 0°63 ; hind 
toe, 1:1; its claw straight, 1:4. 
35.—Spizaetus cirrhatus, Gmel. 
“ Perhaps the handsomest eagle of the hills, not so common 
as either the Black Kite Eagle, or Harrier Hagle. It is very 
daring, frequently making a dash amongst the chickens, when, 
if it misses its stroke, it retires to some neighbouring tree 
to concert a fresh plan of attack, if not shot or driven off. 
When approached in this position, it raises its crest very con- 
spicuously. Though not yet fortunate enough to take a nest, I 
think this species must breed on the hills, for I once saw a 
young bird barely able to fly—F. W. B.” 
I do not think that the gradual changes of plumage of this 
species from youth to maturity have been anywhere very 
clearly noticed. Without entering into an elaborate descrip- 
tion, [ think I can with the series before me, obtained in 
Travancore, the Neilgherries, Seone, Raepoor, Mundla, and other 
localities in the Central Provinces, Mount Aboo and Etawah, 
give some idea of the normal changes of plumage. 
I may mention here that Mr. Sharpe, in his Catologue I. p. 270, 
records a specimen of this species from Nipal. I have seen 
an enormous number of Spizaeti from Sikhim and Kumaon 
as well as other parts of the Himalayas, but never one refer- 
able to this species, only nipa/ensis from the higher hilly region, 
and caligatus, as well as nipalensis from the lower hills, and 
either there is some mistake as to the species, or the locality, 
whence the specimen was obtained has been wrongly recorded. 
The youngest birds of cirrhatus, when they first issue from 
the nest, have the entire head, neck all round, chin, throat, and 
entire under-parts, white; only on the crown and sides of 
the neck is there a slight fulvous tinge, and a few of these 
feathers have linear, brown, shaft stripes, and the flanks and 
the upper portion of the tibia have a pinkish fawn-coloured tinge. 
The entire chin, throat, breast, abdomen, absolutely pure spot- 
less white. The crest black, with usually very little white 
tipping. The tertiaries and secondary greater coverts, conspi- 
cuously margined with white, the tail with 6 or 7 transverse 
darker brown bars, besides the sub-terminal one, which is not 
wider than the others. 
A little later a buffy fawn-coloured tinge spreads over the 
whole head and sides of the neck, a few of the feathers of the 
breast get a faint tinge of the same colour and these exhibit a 
linear shaft stripe. On the abdomen many of the feathers get 
a fawn-coloured spot towards their tips, and a tint of the same 
