110 



BRITISH BIRDS. 



almost like eggs of the Osprey, -vvliilst others are scarcely spotted at all. 

 Not unfrequently the spots are confluent^ occasionally at the larger end, 

 but more often at the smaller end. The colour of the spots is generally 

 a brownish brick-red ; but sometimes they are a rich dark blood-red. The 

 underlying spots are dull purplish, and seldom very conspicuous ; occa- 

 sionally, however, they are a chief feature of very handsome eggs. 



The general colour of the Lesser Spotted Eagle is a uniform brown, the 

 colour of the newly moulted feathers being rich chocolate-brown, that of 

 the old abraded ones greyish brown. Bill dark horn-colour, cere and feet 

 yellow, claws black; irides yellowish brown. The female resembles the 

 male, but is larger in size. Birds in first plumage have a rusty patch on 

 the nape, which gradually fades as the bird gets older; the scapulars, 

 wing-coverts, and innermost secondaries have a terminal greyish- white spot. 

 The underparts are streaked with rufous-brown. 



