577 



One in Canon Tristram's collection, a male from Etawah, is in very old plumage. In size the male 

 vary as follows — culmen 2"0-2"l, wing 18 - 2-186, tail 11 -0-1 1*6, tarsus S'S-S'SS inches; and the 

 females — culmen 2'15-2 - 4, wing 19 - l-20"5, tail 11-5-120, tarsus 4-0-4'2 inches. The iris seems to 

 vary greatly according to age ; or possibly there may be individual differences ; for it is said to be nut- 

 brown, fiery orange, orange-brown, or yellow. 



The range of this, as of almost all our European Eagles, is large, as it is found in Southern 

 Europe and Northern and Central Africa, ranging eastward to India. 



It has not been met with in Great Britain or in any part of North Europe ; and Borggreve 

 states that thei - e is no record of its occurrence in Northern Germany ; but it is tolerably common 

 in the south of France, frequenting there, as elsewhere, mountain-ranges within a reasonable 

 distance of marshy districts and lakes inhabited by wild fowl, on which it, to a large extent, 

 feeds. Baron J. W. von Miiller remarks (J. f. O. 1856, p. 213) that, though it is now tolerably 

 common in Provence, it was formerly unknown there, and he is at a loss to account for its 

 appearance. In Portugal it is stated by Professor Barboza du Bocage to be common ; and 

 Mr. A. C. Smith adds (Ibis, 1868, p. 435) that it is especially numerous at Coimbra. It is 

 numerous in Spain ; and, according to Colonel Irby, it is resident in the southern portions of 

 that country, and one pair nest annually on the Bock of Gibraltar. Mr. Howard Saunders 

 speaks of it as being the commonest rock-breeding Eagle in the country ; and Dr. A. E. Brehm 

 says (Allg. deutsch. naturh. Zeit. iii. p. 436) that he found it not uncommon in pairs and 

 families throughout the whole of Southern and Central Spain, and observed it at Jativa, Murcia, 

 Granada, and Madrid in the mountains. When in Spain I observed it near Madrid, and think 

 that I once saw it in the hills not far from Barcelona. 



Herr A. von Homeyer says (J. f. O. 1862, p. 248) that he found it rare in the Balearic 

 Islands, and in fact only once observed it, on the 6th May. It is found in Italy. Salvadori 

 states that it is rather rare on the mainland of Italy ; but in the island of Sicily it is, according 

 to Doderlein, tolerably well known, and it is said to breed near Bronte. It is also found in 

 Sardinia, where, Salvadori says (J. f. O. 1865, p. 60), "it is common. I obtained an immature 

 bird, and saw an old one at Domus Novas. One of the four specimens in the Cagliari Museum, 

 a fully adult bird, has the abdomen white, and on the shaft of each feather a narrow black 

 streak. Specimens in this plumage, however, are rare." Mr. A. B. Brooke, who also met with 

 it commonly in Sardinia, says (Ibis, 1873, p. 149) that he has repeatedly seen this species 

 hunting over the plains and round the "stagnos" of Oristano, in Sardinia, and that it is also 

 abundant in the mountains. In the Greek Archipelago and in Greece itself it is a tolerably 

 common species. Lord Lilford writes (Ibis, 1860, p. 4): — "I observed this species near 

 Butrinto, at Livitazza, at the mouth of the Kalamas, and at Phanari, at the mouth of the 

 Acheron. I always observed it in pairs, and hunting rocks near the marshes." Von der Miihle 

 speaks of it as being one of the commonest Eagles in Greece ; but Lindermayer obtained com- 

 paratively few specimens during the space of twenty-five years. Dr. Kriiper, however, writes to 

 me saying that it occurs in Acarnania and the Parnassus, where it breeds, and is rather common 

 than otherwise. 



It has twice been met with in Southern Germany, in Bohemia, as recorded by Dr. Anton 

 Fritsch, who says (J. f. O. 1871, p. 176) that the first occurrence took place, according to 



