MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 825 



Why there should be any doubt about it, I am unable to guess, as this is by 

 no means a rara avis, building all over the Himalayas, in suitable localities, 

 from 6 to 8,000 ft. above sea level. I have found its nest in the hills north of 

 Simla, in Tehri Garhwal, and at least half a dozen up here ; though unfor- 

 tunately never with eggs and always with only one youngster, though it is said 

 to lay two eggs. 



It almost invariably builds on a large deodar, and selects a tree which, though 

 surrounded by dense forest, at a little distance, is itself in more or less a 

 " clearing " with a few dead trees near it, on which the parents love to perch. 



A broad " nullah " with heavy jungle on either side and cultivation some 

 distance below, is an ideal site for its nest. The change in plumage from tho 

 nestling to the second year is considerable, but from that onwards gradual, the 

 markings remaining very nearly the same and only the colouring becoming 

 darker. The irides too, undergo a change, from the bluey grey of the nestling 

 to bright yellow in a bird from one to two years old, thence to a bright golden 

 in the haggard, which ultimately turns orange in a very old bird. 



The Hodgson's Hawk-Eagle is one of the most tractable of all eagles, and 

 when tamed, makes quite as affectionate a pet as a goshawk. I have a 

 haggard in my possession now, after her fourth moult, which was flying to the 

 fist, from over a hundred yards, the twentieth day after her capture, and that 

 without one single night's waking. 



In conclusion, I may add that she has already lost the white tip to her crest.. 



C. H. DONALD. 

 Bhadarwa, Kashmir, 14th September 1906. 



Postscript. 



With reference to the black crest of Spizaetus nepalensis referred to above, my 

 eagle has now begun growing one-crest feather with a white tip,£.e., she now has 

 three feathers entirely black and one with a white tip, showing that they lose 

 the tip gradually and feather by feather. One second year bird has no crest 

 at all, which is odd, as she appears to have finished her moult for the year 

 otherwise, but of course it may come yet. 



Wazirabad, Punjab, 15th December 1906. C. H. DONALD. 



No. XV— EARLY ARRIVAL OF DUCK. 



On the 23rd of this month, whilst out walking, a pair of Red-crested Pochards 

 (Netta rufini,) flew over my head. They were both females. We are surround- 

 ed on all sides by floods, and pelicans are very numerous. 



CHAS. M. INGLIS. 

 Anarh Fcty., Laheria Serai, Darbhanga, 27th August 1906. 



No. XVI.— THE BOLDNESS OF PANTHERS. 



Panther Hunt in a Bungalow. 



From time to time one occasionally hears accounts of tigers and leopards 

 taking shelter in houses and villages, but I think the episode which happened 



