82 BIRDS OF INDIA. 



I never observed it myself south of the Nerbudda. I saw it fre- 

 quently in the Saugor territories, and in Bengal. It extends to 

 Burraah and all the Malay countries. It lives chiefly on fish, 

 but will carry off a teal, or wounded duck ; and strikes at other 

 birds. I found its nest on several occasions ; once near the Nerbudda, 

 in a larr^e tree, again near Saugor, on a tree on the top of a height 

 overlooking a large tank ; and in a tree, on the skirts of a village 

 near the Ganges, opposite Kajmahal, I found a whole colony of 

 nests of this Eagle. 



The nest is a very large structure of sticks. In one nest there 

 were unflecln-ed young ; the others were empty. Horsfleld relates 

 that he kept one alive for some time, and fed it on fish, and that it took 

 copious draughts of water : the cry resembled that of the Osprey. 



Another species of this genus is Pontaetus hundlis, Temm. 

 {Icthycetus nanus of Blyth,) from Malacca and the Islands; "a 

 miniature" of our bird. 



Gen. Hali^tus, Savigny. 



S3'n. — Cuncuma (in part) Hodgs. — Blagriis, Blyth, (in part) — 

 Pontaetus, Kaup. 



Cliar. — Bill straight at the base, longish, compressed, curved 

 towards the tip, which is much hooked ; upper mandible with the 

 margin strongly sinuate ; nostrils somewhat oblong, transverse ; 

 wings long, 4th and 5th quills sub-equal and longest ; tail moderate 

 or rather short ; tarsus moderate, strong, plumed for nearly half 

 its length, the lower half with large transverse scuta in front, and 

 a short and more irregular series behind ( Cuncuma) ; or with a 

 few and irregular ones in front above, and the whole of the rest 

 reticulated with small scales, hexagonal, or irregular {Halimtus) ; 

 toes large, covered with scuta; outer toe scarcely mobile ; claws 

 large, unequal, squared beneath, well-curved. 



The Sea Eagles generally want the foramina in the sternum, 

 which are present* in the true Aquiloe. 



42. Haliaetus fulvi venter, Vieill. 



F. Macei, Temm., ?1. col. 223— H. Macei, Blyth, Cat. 124— 

 HoRSF., Cat. 67 — H. albipes, Hodgson, — H. lanceolatus, Hodgs., 



