NOTES ON A VISIT TO THE LUCKNOW MUSEUM. 385 



rare as may be inferred from my remarks ; for, at a distance 

 of thirty yards, it would not be discriminated from the Common 

 Kestrel ; now, that the bird is known and sure to be looked for, 

 it may turn up just as plentifully as the once mythical Aquila 

 hastata has done. Mr. Brooks is of opinion that the Lesser 

 Kestrel passes on its southward migration very early in the 

 season, returning again later than most migratory birds do ; and 

 this may be an additional reason why it has hitherto escaped 

 detection. 



Dr. Bonavia was so good as to allow me to bring away a couple 

 of his birds ; and as I have now had an opportunity of comparing 

 them with Dresser's plates ( ' Birds of Europe') of the allied 

 form, it may be as well to point out that the adult Indiau male 

 bird differs from its European ally simply in the larger amount of 

 grey on the icings which extends right up to the carpal joint. Messrs. 

 Dresser (' Birds of Europe,') and Sharpe (' Catalogue of Birds,' 

 Vol. 1, p. 437) state that the adult pekinensis is unspotted below, 

 but this distinction does not hold good in regard to the two Luck- 

 now specimens, which are just as freely spotted as Dresser's 

 plate of cenchris is. The immature specimen above referred to 

 has nearly completed the blue cap, but shows no sig?is of grey 

 on the wings, as is the case with the adult examples ; the upper 

 and lower plumage generally is very similar to that of a young 

 Tinunculus alaudarius. The claws of all three specimens are 

 white, tinged with yellow, as in the allied species. 



41 bis. — Polioaetus plumbeus, Hodg. 



One specimen, which, from its superior size, is probably a 

 female. This is the second plains-killed specimen of the Hima- 

 layan Fish Eagle known to me, the first being one that 

 Mr. Brooks obtained at Etawah. I have no doubt this Eaglo 

 occurs commonly enough throughout the well-watered parts 

 of Northern Oudh and Rohilkkand* during the winter months, 

 but further south, and more particularly in the Doab, it can 

 only be considered in the light of a rare straggler. Having 

 more the habits of the Osprey than of the larger Fishing- 

 Eagles, and feeding exclusively on fish, it must, I imagiue, bo 

 looked for more on rivers and lakes than inland j heels. 



During my recent tour in Kumaou I found P. plumbeus 

 fairly common in the valley of the Surju, up to an elevation 

 of between 4,000 and 4,500 feet. A pair shot off the nest 

 (which contained one young bird about a fortnight old) care- 

 fully measured in the flesh, gave the following results : — 

 Sex. Length. Wing. Tail from vent. Tarsus. 

 S 230 175 100 33 



? 245 18-0 105 3-4 



* I have received a portion of a specimen from the north of the Kheree district in 

 Oudh. 



