THE BIRDS OF NORTH GACHAR. 393 



(504) Gyps indicus. — The Long-billed Vulture. 

 Hume, No. 4; Blanford, No. 1194. 

 Hume mentions, in " Stray Feathers," G. indicus as one of the vul- 

 tures to be found in Cachar, but the few birds I have examined seem 

 rather to belong to the next species. 

 (505) Gyps tenuirostris. — The Himalayan Long-billed Vulture. 



Hume, No. 4 ter ; Blanford, No. 1195. 

 This is, as far as I know, the common form everywhere. It is 

 possible that both G. himalayensis and G. indicus may enter the dis- 

 trict, but vultures are not commonly seen in North Cachar and I have 

 devoted ven r little attention to them, besides which, it is not easy to 

 discriminate between some of the spe ies without having good series 

 for comparison. In the plains, of course, one can obtain any number, 

 but native collectors are not keen on getting them as their brethren 

 laugh at them for shooting the foul bird. 



(506) Pseudogyps bengalensis. — The White-backed Vulture. 



Hume, No. 5 ; Blanford, No. 1196. 

 This vulture seems seldom to wauder to any of the heights above 

 3,000 feet, and is rare even as high as that. I have known carcases 

 of gour and gayal to lie out in the open on the top of a peak 

 hardly over 3,000 feet for days together without attracting a single 

 vulture. 



Family FalconiDtE. 

 Sub-family Falconince. 

 (507) Aquila bifasciata.— The Steppe Eagle. 

 Hume, No. 27 bis ; Blanford, No. 1202. 

 A very rare winter visitor. I have as yet only seen it twice, and 

 have not yet succeeded in obtaining a specimen. 

 (508) Lophotrioechis kieneri. — The Rufous-bellied Hawk Eagle. 

 Hume, No. 37; Blanford, No. 1209. 

 Recorded from Cachar ; I have never yet met with it. 



(509) IcTiNiETus malayensis.— The Black Eagle. 



Hume, No. 32 ; Blanford, No. 1210. 



Not a very rare bird in North Cachar, though I have not yet met 



with it in the plains. I have seen this eagle stoop at jungle fowl and 



though I have not myself seen it strike, the natives tell me that it does 



sometimes seize them, and I once saw one in the act of feeding on a 



