SPIZAETUS KELAARTI. 53 



are, however, barred in the same complete manner as the breast and flanks of the Ceylonese, but the perfect bar 

 never seems to go any higher than the tibials. 



In the young of the Indian species the breast is marked with drop-shaped streaks, the bars being confined to the flanks 

 and under tail-coverts : the markings are very dark as a rule, particularly on the chest and upper breast. It is, I 

 may here remark, a very variable bird in its plumage, old birds differing inter se as much as young ones ; and out 

 of a score I have examined, no two were exactly alike. Five adult Ceylonese examples, which I have had the 

 opportunity of examining, exhibited precisely the same character of barring over the whole under surface. 



Lastly, as regards the massive foot and immense claws, which are characteristic of S. kelaarti, I have been unable (as 

 will appear by a glance at my table of measurements, in ' The Ibis,' of seventeen examples of S. nipalcnsis) to find 

 any Indian example of this latter species with the hind claw exceeding l - 9 inch ; whereas in the Ceylonese bird it 

 attains the great size of 2*1 inches, this measurement being taken, in accordance with my usual custom, across the 

 arc from the tip to the exterior edge of the base. 



Distribution. — This magnificent Eagle, the noblest representative of its tribe which Ceylon possesses, is 

 peculiar to the island, and was first recorded by Dr. Kelaart from a bird procured by him near Badulla, 

 mention of which is made at page 96 of his ' Prodromus,' as follows : — " This elegant crested Eagle is 

 occasionally seen in the highest mountains. The only specimen we succeeded in procuring was shot on a 

 mountain 4000 feet high, near Badulla." From that time until comparatively recently it does not appear to 

 have been noticed by naturalists in the island ; and so late as the year 1872, Mr. Holdsworth was unable to 

 record any further instances of its capture since that of Kelaart' s bird, although, doubtless, in the course of 

 opening up the forests of the Central Province for the planting of coffee, the species may have been killed not 

 unfrequently, and not recognized by its captors as any thing valuable. 



It is entirely a mountain species, having its headquarters in the wild and little-trodden forests of the main 

 range and other isolated lofty jungles, such as Haputale and the Knuckles, whence it descends to the neigh- 

 bouring coffee-estates in pursuit or search of its quarry. In so doing it has lately been shot so frequently 

 that it can no longer be considered one of our very rare Eagles. Not many years after the establishment of 

 Messrs. Whyte and Co.'s business as naturalists and collectors, specimens began to find their way to them, 

 and in 1875 I had the opportunity of examining two examples preserved in their collection. In March, 1876, 

 a magnificent bird was shot by Mr. Bligh on the Catton Estate, Lemastota, and in the same year five examples 

 were procured by Messrs. Whyte and Co., belonging to gentlemen in the surrounding planting districts. Three 

 of the finest of these were obtained as follows : — (1) by Mr. A. Thorn, on Oudasgeria Estate, Matale; (2) by 

 Mr. E. Nicol, Kitlamoola Estate, Deltota; (3) by Mr. Gould, Maturata — all at elevations ranging from 2000 

 to 4500 feet. About the same time a sixth specimen was shot by Mr. Thurston near Nuwara Elliya, but 

 unfortunately was not preserved. 



Habits. — This fine Eagle frequents the retired recesses and forests of mountainous country, above an 

 elevation of 3000 feet or thereabouts, probably not dwelling permanently or breeding below 4000 feet, although 

 it may frequently be met with considerably beneath these altitudes when in search of food. Though bold and 

 courageous in its disposition as a Raptor, it is very shy and wary of man, rarely coming beneath his notice, 

 except when caught in the act of making a raid on the poultry-yards of the planters or seizing a hare on the 

 mountain patnas. The first-named habit has on nearly all occasions led to its capture of late years in the 

 planting districts. One of the finest examples above noticed was shot by Mr. Nicol after it had missed its 

 mark at a fowl and settled on a tree near his bungalow ; and Mr. Bligh informs me that the magnificent 

 example which he shot at Catton had its talons covered with the fur of a newly slaughtered hare. 



It is occasionally seen about Nuwara Elliya, where the existence of isolated cottages and houses, with 

 their accustomed live stock, is a weighty attraction for it ; it is quite powerful enough to be capable of carrying 

 off the largest inmate of the poultry-yard, and, indeed, could make quick work with a moderately-sized lamb, 

 were such to be found among the possessions of the fortunate owners of the many pretty bungalows which dot 

 the plain of Nuwara Elliya. Its powers of flight and skill in catching game must be quite equal to those of its 

 Himalayan relative, of whom Captain Hutton, as quoted by Mr. Hume in ' Rough Notes,' says, " it is most 

 destructive to pigeons, fowls, and game." Mr. Thompson likewise writes of this bird : — " It feeds much on 

 Pheasants, Hares, Black Partridge, Monaul and Cheer Pheasants, and sometimes on young deer." 



