AQUILA. 135 



these very trees, awaiting the triumphal entry of the Viceroy into 

 the capital of Oudh. I have since thought that this nest belonged 

 rightfully either to Milvus govinda or Haliastur indas, both of 

 which species were very abundant there. Wrien encamped at the 

 pretty little station of Mynpoory in January last, a pair of Wokabs 

 became excessively troublesome, carrying off everything they coukl 

 find and robbing the more legitimate earap-scavengers, Kites and 

 Crows, of every morsel they picked up. I was not long in finding 

 their nest, an enormous structure, on the topmost branches of a 

 seesoo, which was visible nearly a mile off, as at this season of the 

 year the tree was devoid of every green leaf. 



" The nest contained two half-grown Eaglets, which were most 

 tenderly nurtured by their parents, judging from the frequency of 

 their visits and the pugnacious way in which they attacked evei-y 

 bird that unconsciously approached within sight, no inatter how 

 far off. 



" During one of my visits to the tree, I saw both the birds in hot 

 pursuit of a Jugger Palcon that was flying away with a pigeon. 

 Another day I wounded a Foliomis teesa, which flew away dangling 

 both legs. Simultaneou,-ily with my shot out flew one of these 

 Wokabs, and pursued the wounded Buzzard, in the vain hope of 

 becoming possessed of its prey ! The Eagle very soon overtook 

 the unfortunate bird, flying round it several times by way of in- 

 spection, and when satisfied that no booty was forthcoming, it 

 returned to the nest after two or three rapid gyrations.'" 



Mr. Benjamin Aitken sends me the following notes : — " These 

 notes were all made at Akola in Berar. 1st January, 1871. Nest 

 on the very top of a small tamarind-tree in a garden : contained 

 one half-fledged bird and a dead cat. — 19th January. The same pair 

 of birds began a nest in a tree, not a tamarind, in the same garden. — 

 3rd February. To-day I sent a man up ; he frightened off the old 

 bird out of the nest (now complete) and slightly disarranged the 

 nest, but found nothing. — 10th February. Sent up a man again, 

 and got one egg." 



The normal number of eggs seems to be two, but it is by no 

 means uncommon to find three. The eggs of this species appear 

 to me to vary prodigiously in size and shape ; but it is not im- 

 probable that this excessive apparent variation is due to the enor- 

 mous series I have before me. I have taken more than a hundred 

 of this bird's eggs myself, and from first to last have had more than 

 double this number sent me by other observers. Normally this 

 bird's egg is a somewhat broad oval, slightly pointed towards one end, 

 some are very long and pointed. A pair which I took in the 

 Goorgaon district are long and narrow ; the cubic contents of these 

 must be fully twice that of some of the smaller specimens ; they 

 each contained a fully developed chick, ready to hatch off. A few 

 of the eggs are nearly spherical, but the broad oval greatly pre- 

 dominates. The ground-colour of the eggs is the usual greyish 

 white, unspotted in about half the specimens, and exhibiting more 

 or less conspicuous markings in others. Of the markings, the 



