130 BLACK-WINGED KITE. 
and Magpies which live upon the same kind of food, with much cou- 
rage from its domicile. It exhales an odour of musk very distinctly. 
It places its nest, large and wide, in the bifurcation of trees, lining it 
with feathers and moss, and laying four or five white eggs." 
The Rev. H. B. Tristram, in his "Catalogue of Algerian Birds," says 
of Falco melanopterus : — " This beautiful bird is extremely rare in Algeria. 
A female specimen was the only one obtained during the spring. The 
egg is interesting as corroborating by its character the position of the 
species between Astur and Buteo." It is very rare in British 
collections. 
The adult male and female have the vertex, nape, and mantle ashy 
grey, lighter on the head. Face, front of neck, and under parts of 
body pure white, shaded with bluish ash-colour upon the sides of the 
cheek;" eyebrows and a spot in front of the eyes black; wings, when 
folded, partly black and partly a more or less dark ash-colour, with 
the carpus and the edge pure white. Tail shaded with grey above, 
white below; beak black; iris and feet orange yellow. 
Young birds. — Colours duller, with the feathers of the upper parts 
edged with ferruginous red; those of the under parts longitudinally 
marked with brown streaks or spots; wings slate-coloured, with the 
coverts and quills ending in a reddish white; tail ash-coloured, tipped 
with white. When first born they are covered with a reddish grey 
down; when they leave the nest they have the head, nape, and upper 
parts of the body of a reddish tint; the chest ferruginous red, and the 
rest of inferior parts white, very slightly "watered" with a reddish 
tint. (Degland.) 
"With the history of this bird that of the Falconiclce closes. I have 
omitted from this edition the Bald Eagle, F. leucocephalus , and the 
Black Kite, Milvus ater. The former has not, according to the best 
testimony, occurred in Europe, and the latter has appeared in England, 
and is therefore figured by Gould and Professor Newton in their re- 
spective works. I have also omitted to give any account of the Indian 
Spotted Eagle, Aquila vittata, which has undoubtedly occurred in 
Europe, but it is not decided whether this bird or the smaller, Aquila 
ncevia, has appeared in England, as will be seen by the following ex- 
tract from a letter received from Mr. J. H. Gurney: — 
"With regard to the Sj)otted Eagles. I now think that Mr. Brookes 
is right in saying that it is the larger race which is the true A. ncevia 
of Gmelin, and that A. vittata should be given only as a synonyme 
of it. 
This is the Spotted Eagle of India. The Norwich Museum has also 
a specimen, said to have been obtained by Sir Stamford Raffles in 
