AQUILINE. 65 



or exceeding the long tail ; 4tli and 5tli quills equal and longest ; 

 1st quill short, 2nd nearly equal to the 3rd ; the larger quills 

 strongly emarginate ; tail long, slightly rounded ; tarsus feathered, 

 somewhat feeble, of moderate length ; toes short, unequal, the outer 

 toe very short, and the claw small ; inner toe very large, nearly as 

 long as the central one, and stouter, and the claw much larger, 

 longer than the hind claw ; all the claws moderately curved. 



The head is round and kite-like, the wings and tail both ample, 

 the orbits downy, and the form slender. This remarkable type 

 contains but one known species. The peculiar structure of the foot 

 of this Eagle, almost unique, I believe, among the diurnal Eaptores, 

 though common among Owls, was first pointed out by myself, and 

 I subsequently named the type Ictinaetus. Hodgson, however, had 

 previously named it Ueteropus, which word being already pre-occu- 

 pied, he changed, in 1844, into Neopus ; and Kaup, the same year, 

 proposed Onychaetus. 



32. Neopus Malaiensis, Eeinwakdt. 



Falco, apud Eeinwaedt — Tern., PI. col. pi. 117 — Bltth, 

 Cat. 114 — Jerdon, 2nd Suppl. Cat. 12. ter. — Aquila perniger, 

 HoDGS., J. A. S. V. 227 — Heteropus, and afterwards Neopus, 

 HoDGS. — HoRSF., Cat. 617 — Nisaetus ovivorus, Jerdon, Suppl. 

 Cat. 12 ter. — Lakmong hong, Lepch. — Heugong Bhot. — Adavi nulla 

 gedda, Tel. i. e., jungle black Kite. 



The Black Eagle. 



Descr. — Of an uniform brown black, paler and duller beneath ; 

 upper tail coverts barred with white ; tail with some light bars ; 

 quills faintly barred with grey on their inner webs. 



Cere, gape, and feet deep yellow ; bill greenish horny, black at 

 the tip ; irides dark brown. 



Length of a male 27^ inches; wing 22; tail 14, A female 

 was 30^ inches ; wing 23 ; tail 14 ; tarsus 4 ; centre toe ly^^, claw 

 ly^^ ; inner toe lyt , claw ly% ; outer toe j%, claw y^ ; hind toe ly^p, 

 claw 1/^. AVeight 3^ to 4R)s. 



This remarkable eagle is found in most of the hilly and jungly 

 districts of India. I have seen it in Malabar near the level of the 



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