Vol. xi.] 8 



the first plumage. In the old bird the colour of the head 

 is clearer than the rest of the body : this never occurs 

 in the typical A. vindhiana. I propose for this form the 

 name 



" Aquila murina, subsp. n.* 



" Owing to the scarcity of specimens shot off the nests, we 

 cannot compare the distribution of the true A. vindhiana and 

 A. mwina, but the range of the latter seems to be somewhat 

 restricted. Hence the group of A. rapax and its allies is 

 composed of four sub-species. 



IC As concerns the typical A. rapax, it is a very remarkable 

 fact that it gets striped in its adult plumage, whereas many 

 other Eagles — A. heliaca, A. clanga, A. nee via, A. hastata — 

 are striped in their first plumage. This fact suggests that 

 A. rapax is a very ancient form. A. vindhiana and A. albi- 

 cans, which assume the longitudinal stripes in the intermediate 

 stages and lose them again in the old plumage, must be 

 considered as more progressive forms and of more recent 

 origin. 



"About the Steppe-Eagles [A. nipalensis) I will only 

 point out at present the circumstance, very often over- 

 looked, that these Eagles appear sometimes to winter in 

 Africa. I have seen about three specimens from the Upper 

 Nile and adjacent countries, and one from Otjimbinque, in 

 Damara Land. 



"Aquila hastata is very nearly related to A. ncevia, but I 

 fancy that it can always be surely distinguished, unless, per- 

 haps, in very much bleached plumage. The rufous nuchal patch 

 is never seen in A. hastata, and whitish points are always 

 present on the lesser wing-coverts ; the pale tips of the 

 primaries are very conspicuous in the old birds from the 

 7th, whereas in A. ncevia seldom from the 8th; in the 

 young A. hastata the 7th primary is coloured as the 8th ; 

 in the young A. ncevia it is coloured like the 6th. In 

 size and proportions both species are much the same, but 

 in A, hastata the 7th primary is generally shorter than in 

 A. ncevia ; the distance between the tip of the bill and the 

 * Type from Darjiling in Mus. Brit. 



