104 BOOTED EAGLE. 
larger than a Buzzard's, and seldom so richly marked." 
In his "History of the Birds in North East Africa," Heuglin ob- 
serves: — "The Booted Eagle (Aquila pennata) inhabits during the 
breeding season, in somewhat large numbers, the date-tree fences of 
Lower and Middle Egypt, especially preferring the neighbourhood of 
canals. It comes very early into Lower Egypt (even as early as March) 
to breed, and moves northwards in September or October. It passes 
the winter singly in Senar and Kordofan. Its flight and note are like 
those of the Buzzards, yet when soaring high up in the air it can 
easily be distinguished by its smaller, less rounded, and less outspread 
tail. During the breeding season they are often seen making wide 
circles in the air, piping and screaming and fighting as they fly. The 
nest is placed on the leafy tufts of high palm trees. The egg is like 
that of some Buzzards, but is in general smaller." In Spain (according 
to Saunders) the egg is not at all like a Buzzard's, and I have' a 
specimen taken by Loche in Algeria, which is like those described by 
Saunders, quite white, and which Mr. Dresser (who has taken the eggs 
in Spain) says is undoubtedly correct. 
I wrote to Heuglin about this, but he assures me that all the eggs 
he saw were coloured more or less like those of the Common Buzzard, 
and similar to the drawing in my "B. of E." I presume and believe 
that the eggs and mode of nesting of the same bird differs in diffe- 
rent countries. 
The Booted Eagle lives upon small mammals, chiefly field and sand 
mice, water fowl, and pigeons; lizards were also found in the stomach. 
It is not a shy bird, and is easily shot when on its resting place for 
the night, to which it goes at the beginning of twilight. Heuglin saw 
it more rarely on solitary trees. It prefers date palms, and not generally 
the highest of the group. Heuglin doubts the correctness of Leith 
Adams's account of seeing the bird on his journey from Cairo to 
Wadi-Halfa in November, December, and January. He had frequently 
the opportunity of seeing it wandering along the Nile in March and 
September, and it scarcely ever, according to his experience, has ap- 
peared in Egypt in the winter. It generally takes its periodical flight 
to the south in flocks of three to six, and sometimes more. A. JBrehmi 
of Miiller is the bird in young plumage. This plumage is of a dull 
coffee brown, the axillary feathers partly white. Birds thus coloured 
are met with frequently in N.E. Africa in the autumn, but not at the 
breeding time. The Booted Eagle occurs in N. and S. Africa, E. 
Africa (Chibisa, Dickinson), S. and E. of Europe, Nepaul, and, ac- 
cording to Schlegel in Australia. The bird, however, here indicated 
is, according to Gould (see his "Birds of Australia,") larger, has no 
