68 IMPERIAL EAGLE. 
breast, abdomen, sides, leg feathers, axillaries, wing lining (except 
the greater lower wing coverts, which are darker) uniform brown. 
Lower tail coverts, white. (Second year.) 
Third. This stage is characterized by a dark hair, or even at times 
umber brown, darkest above, and chocolate brown on the scapulars, 
with no pale bands on the wings, or tips to the tail feathers, and 
with numerous narrow, transverse, irregular grey bands on the latter; 
and with much brown mingled with the lower white tail coverts. 
Upper tail coverts, as the bird approaches the fourth stage, dark brown, 
only slightly tipped with white. (Third year.) 
Fourth. The whole head, nape, cheeks, ear coverts, and sides of 
the neck, buff or orange buff; the back, scapulars, (except a few which 
are pure white in most, but all white in some specimens), upper tail 
coverts, wing coverts, primaries and secondaries, chin, throat, breast, 
abdomen, leg feathers, sides, axillaries, and wing lining, deep blackish 
brown. The upper wing coverts margined, and the upper tail coverts 
tipped with fulvous white. The lower tail coverts white, and a good 
deal of white mottling about the tertiaries, which are a pale brown. 
The tail grey, with a terminal black band, occupying fully two thirds 
of its visible surface, and above this a number of more or less brown 
bands, which sometimes do not coincide exactly at the shaft." (Fourth 
year. Perfect adult.) 
The second stage in the above description is the bird to which the 
name Aquila bifasciata was given by Gray, considered here, mark by 
Mr. Hume, to be only a plumage stage of the true Imperialis. 
In the "Proceedings of the Zoological Society for 1871," Mr. A. 
Anderson published a most interesting paper on the raptorial birds of 
India. On the Imperial Eagle he makes the following remarks: — 
"That the dark full-grown bird has the white scapulars. Compared 
with my plate in the first edition, he remarks: — 
"First. — All three adult dark plumaged birds, have the same broad 
terminal band to the tail, but instead of the two distinct bars between 
that and the base of the tail, they had several indistinct and irregular 
wavy marks. 
Second. — The Indian birds want the light colour down the centre of 
the back, though the head agrees well enough. They also want the 
light ochreous shade between the shoulders and sides of the neck. 
Third. — The Indian birds are on the whole very much blacker, and 
the white on the scapulary region is not so conspicuous; in one specimen 
it as good as wanting." 
In conclusion, he remarks: — 
"The bird in the lineated stage is the most common in India, next 
