86 BONELLI'S EAOLE. 
name) is certainly a rare bird in Southern India. I have only seen 
it twice — once at Beramahl, seated on the edge of a tank, in the 
neighbourhood of a jungly district; and again a pair seated on a lofty 
tree in a tope in open country in the northern part of the Deccan. 
Mr. Hodgson says the habits of the genus are as follows: — ' Preys on 
jungle fowl, partridges, and hares; watches from a lofty perch, usually 
pouncing on its game when near it, sometimes pursues it with energy 
on the wing.' Mr. Elliot, in his "Notes," says: — 'Is the noblest of 
the Indian Eagles, being seldom seen, and then generally at a great 
height in the air, in wild places. It preys on hares. I once saw 
a pair of them hunting in company, which nearly surprised a peacock, 
by pouncing on him on the ground.' 
The large Hawk Eagle is dispersed over the whole continent of 
India, from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin, but cannot be said to 
be an abundant species, though few districts are not occasionally fre- 
quented or visited by them. It chiefly affects the more wooded and 
jungly districts, and especially the neighbourhood of hills and mountain 
ranges. 
It is much on the wing, sailing at a great height, and making its 
appearance at certain spots in the districts it frequents always about 
the same hour. It may often be seen seated on the summit of a 
lofty tree, or on some overhanging rock. I have observed it chiefly 
on the Neilgherries, along the range of Western and Northern Ghauts, 
also, though more sparingly, in the bare Deccan and Carnatic. It 
preys by preference on various kinds of game, — hares, jungle fowl, 
spur-fowl, and partridges, and even on pea-fowl; also on ducks, herons, 
and other water-fowl, and according to the testimony of native Shikarees, 
it has been known to strike down the douk, {Tantalus leucocephalus.) 
Most native Falconers, too, have stories to relate of its having carried 
off a favourite Hawk. On one occasion, on the Neilgherries, I observed 
it stoop successively at a spur-fowl, hare, and pea-fowl, each time 
unsuccessfully however, owing to the thickness of the jungle. A pair 
were also wont to resort to a village at the hills, and carry off fowls. 
Great havoc was committed among several pigeon-houses on the 
Neilgherries by a pair of these Eagles, and indeed I have heard that 
one or two were completely devastated by them. The manner in 
which they capture pigeons was described to me by two or three eye- 
witnesses to be as follows: — On the pigeons taking flight one of the 
Eagles pounced down from a vast height on the flock, but directing 
its swoop rather under the pigeons than directly at them. Its mate 
watching the moment when alarmed by the first swoop the pigeons 
rise in confusion, pounces unerringly on one of them, and carries it off. 
