130 



EALCONlDyE. 



the other was somewhat thinly blotched, clouded, and spotted in 

 all parts with pale reddish brown, not much darker than the ground- 

 colour. 



One, a magnificent specimen from Kuraaon, was like a full- 

 coloured Falcon's egg. Some were a deep orange-brown ; another 

 was dull white, thickly spotted, blotched, and streaked with pale, 

 washed-out reddish brown and purple, the markings quite confluent 

 on the large end, where the^' form a pale irregular mottled cap. 



The two eggs from the second nest taken by Major Cock (now 

 in Mr. Brooks's collection) are, says the latter gentleman, " exactly 

 of the colour you describe (Eough Notes, p. 37) : one pale yellow- 

 brown, almost uniform, the spots are so small ; the other with a 

 few larger and darker spots now and then. They are what I call 

 poor-looking eggs, and not nearly so fine as the European ones in 

 Hancock's collection." 



The huge solitary egg from Major Cock's third nest was a deep 

 red-brown, streaked in places with lighter brown. 



"We may now say that the eggs of this species vary from 2'96 to 

 3-65 inches in length, and from 2-5 to 2-9 inches in breadth ; and 

 that the average of thirteen eggs measured is 3'24 by 2-66 inches. 



Aquila chrysaetus (Linn.). The Golden Eagl 



e. 



Aquila chrysaetos {Linn.), Jerd. B. Ind. i, p. 55 ; Hume, Rough 

 Draft N. 8r E. no. 26. 



The Golden Eagle occurs and breeds sparingly in the Himalayas) 

 from Sikhim Co Afghanistan ; in the eastern and central portion 

 of this tract it is confined to the immediate neighbourhood of the 

 Snowy Eange, but in the extreme north-west it comes nearer do«n 

 towards the plains. Mr. Erederic Wilson, well known as ' Moun- 

 taineer,' writing of the country about Gungootree and Juninootree, 

 tells me that it "inhabits the hills jutting out from the snowy ranges, 

 and often soars over the latter and up their remote valleys. It is 

 never seen on the lower ranges. It does not go into the dense 

 forests, but may be seen sailing above them and along hill-sides 

 that are entirely bare or only studded with a few trees here and 

 there. A pair are generally seen together. They feed on Pigeons, 

 Moonals, and more especially on the Snow Pheasants, on the young 

 of Tahr and Burhel, and will kill adult Musk-Deer. I have several 

 times seen them do this. The nest I have not seen, except on a 

 precipice, which was quite inaccessible." 



On the other hand, at Thundiana, a hill some 9000 feet high, 

 o\ erlooking the Agrore valley, on the borders of Hazara, Captain 

 Unwiu found a nest and secured a young one thence, along with 

 the female bird, which he sent me. He says : — " The nest \vas 

 placed on a deodar tree, overhanging a steep precipice. It «as 

 about 2.5 feet from the ground, and was composed of a vast number 

 of dried sticks and branches, collected from the neighbouring pine 

 trees. These were piled up against tlie trunk of the tree to a 

 height of about 6 feet, and formed a platform of almost 3 feet in 



