OF THE TRAVANCORE HILLS. 3863 
the different types, in some cases at any rate, grade into each 
other and thus enabling me, according to my idea, to make 
pretty certain as to the order in which these types occur. | 
I do not pretend to assert that every bird passes through all 
these stages, some of them may be alternative, some birds 
may never attain the final stages, possibly the females never 
pass into the black stage ; but what I do contend is, that where 
these stages are attained they are attained somewhat in the 
order indicated below. That the white and rufous stage is 
the younger (though some birds breed in this,) and the darker 
stages older, and that the so-called melanism, or 5th stage, is 
not an indication of youth, but a final result into which birds 
pass after going through, and not before, any of the other 
stages, 
To those who contend that the white and brown or rufous 
stage is the adult and the darker stages the young, I would 
draw attention to the fact that out of 94 specimens, no less 
than 44 belong to their supposed adult, and as a matter of 
fact, it is, taking the country as a whole, twice as numerous as 
all the other forms put together, though owing to the fact that 
the less common varieties attract the collector’s eye, the num- 
ber in this series is only as 44 to 50. Now every collector 
knows that in these Raptors one always sees many more imma- 
ture than perfect adults, and it is therefore contrary to all 
experience to believe that the most common form is that of 
the adult, and the rarer ones those of the young. The follow- 
ing is the list: — 
Ist Stage, Lower plumage white, dirty white or buff more or 
less marked with brown or rufous. 
Males (i) Raipoor 16°5. (2) Rohtuk 16°25. (3) Sambhur 
16°75. (4! Sambhar 16°4. 
(5) Sirsa 16°5. (6) Kotghur 17. (7) Mukrana, Jodh- 
poor 17. (8) Etawah 17. 
(9) Sambhbur 17. (10) Kot Khaie 17. (11) Sambhur 
17-25. (12) Sirsa 17-4. 
(13) Kot Khaie, Simla Hills 17:5. (14) Bhim Tal 
17:5. (15) Sirsa 17:5. (16) Sambhur 17°6. 
(18) Etawah 17°6. (19) Kotehur 17:75. 
(21) Bussahir 16°5. (22) Kotghur 17:5. (23) Sassa- 
pur-Khunaitie 16°75. 
Females (55) Delhi 18. (56) Sirsa 18:5. (57) Cashmere 18:5. 
(58) Delhi 18:2. 
(59) Lahore 18°2. (60) Etawah 18°75. (61) Sambhur 
18°5. (62) Sirsa 18:25. (63) Abbotabad 
18:75. (64) Sumbulpoor 18-4. (65) Abbota- 
bad 18°75. 
