AQUILINiE. 63 



eats the cocoons of silk-worms. A specimen, shot by Mr. Frith in 

 Mjmensing, first attracted that gentlemen's attention by the alarm 

 which was manifested upon its approach to a large banyan tree, 

 upon which were several of the deep and massive nests of the 

 Stiamus contra, one of which it immediately proceeded to pull to 

 pieces, to rob of its contents, in which operation it was shot. (J. A, 

 S., XIL 128.) 



Horsfield places this bird as a Spizaetus, along with S. cnsta- 

 tellusy but its whole structure and plumage are more truly aquiline, 

 although aberrantly so, and it perhaps might form the type of a 



distinct sub-ijenus. 



The next species of Eagle has been separated as a sub-genus, 



HiERAETUS, Kaup. It is barely separable from Aquila, and I shall 



merely give the characters of the group without adopting the name. 

 Bill small, slightly curving from the base ; commissure perfectly 



straight; wings not reaching to tiie end of tail ; tarsus short, stout; 



toes short ; inner claw very large. These are birds of small size 



with a tendency to an occipital crest. The inner edge of tlie 



centre claw is somewhat dilated as in Pernis. 



31. Aquila pennata, Gmel. 



Falco, apud Gmiclin — Bltth, Cat. 115 — Horsf., Cat. 53 — 



. Gould's Birds of Europe, pi. 9 — A. minuta, Brehm — Spizaetus 



milvoides, Jerdon, Cat. 20, and Suppl. 20 — Butaquila strophiata, 



HODGS. — Bagati Jumiz, H. of some, i. e., Garden Eagle ; also 



Gilheri vmr, i. e., Squirrel-killer — Oodatal geddo, Tel., i. e., 



Squirrel Kite — Punja prandii, Tam., i. €., Field Kite. 



The Dwarf Eagle. 



Descr. — Head and neck pale orange brown, the feathers lanceo- 

 late, and streaked in the centre with dark brown ; some of the 

 feathers lengthened, entirely brown, forming a rudimentary crest ; 

 a narrow superciliary stripe, and a band from the angle of the 

 mouth below the ears, and a central stripe on the chin, dark brown; 

 the rest of the upper plumage sepia brown ; the middle wing 

 coverts, and some of the scapulars, broadly edged with whitish 

 brown, forming a conspicuous light band on the wings; tail dark 

 brown, with a pale tip, the inner webs of the feathers barred 



