PANDION. 81 



bliickisli with a distinct greyish band, the latter showing slight tips of 

 fulvous to the feathers; rest of under surface pale oohraceous brown, 

 with distinct but irregular transverse lines of dark brown ; the rest of 

 the under surface with large white spots rather oblong in shape, mostly- 

 margined above and below with black, changing to bars on the thighs 

 and under tail-coverts. Under wing-coverts aad axillaries light rufous 

 with very distinct oval spots of white. 



Length. — 30 inches, culmen 2'25, wing 20-5, tail 13, tarsus 4"5. 



Adult Male^ — Smaller; length 28 inches, wing 18'5, tail 12, tarsus 

 4'15. Ghest perfectly uniform brown with no traces of cross barrings 

 on the under surface; breast aad lower parts very largely and distinctly 

 spotted with white ; cere, loral skin and gape bright yellow ; bill slaty, 

 plumbeous at base, bluish black at tip and on culmen ; feet pale dingy 

 yellow; iris intense yellow. [Skarpe). 



Hah. — Sind, in the Narra Districts, and in well-wooded situations ; 

 also the Concan, Himalayas, Nepaul, Assam aad Burmah ; not uncommon 

 in the Punjab (Shaharunpur District). Breeds in Northern India. 

 Eggs usually one in number, mottled and streaked with dingy brick-red 

 and blood-red; ground colour white. Size 2'8x2'25 inches. Mr. 

 Hume, in his Rough Notes, gives a good compiled account of the 

 nidification of this species. 



Pandion haliaetus, Lin. Syst. Nat. i. p. 129; Sharps, Oat. Ace. 

 B. M. i. p. 450 ; Less. Man. d' Ornithology, i. p. 86; 8w. and Rich, 

 Faun. Bor. Am. Birds, p. 20 ; Gould, Birds of JSur.-pl. 12; Bp. Oonsp. 

 i. 16; Jerd. B. Ind. i. p. 80, No. 40 ; Hnine, Rough Notes, i. p. 284; 

 id. Stray Feathers, i. p. 159; Blanford, Eastn. Persia, p. 114; Murray, 

 Hdbk., Zool., ^c, Sind, p, 110; Shelley, B. Egypt, -p. 203. Pandion 

 indicus, Hodgs. in Gray's Zool. Misc. p. 81. Muahee-Mar, Sind; 

 Mack Murrung, Hind. — Thb Ospret, 



Hea(d and nape white ; the feathers of the forehead and crown with 

 dark brown stripes ; a dark brown streak from the eyes over the ears; 

 upper plumage rich hair brown ; quills blackish; tail pale brown with 

 dark bars, whitish on the inner web, beneath pure white with some 

 brown spots on the breast, longitudinal in youth, broader in advancing 

 age, and tending to coalesce in the fully adult ; irides bright yellow ; 

 legs and feet plumbeous yellow. 



Length. — Of a female 26 inches, wing 20, tail 9, tarsus 2'4 ; bill black. 



Hab. — Sind, Beloochistan, and Persia; also the Punjab, N. W. 

 Provinces, Bengal, Kutch, Kattiawar, Concan and Deccan, and nearly 

 throughout the Indian Peninsula in suitable localities- Occurs also all 

 over Europe and Africa, N. and S. America, China and Japan. Very 

 widely distributed. Most abundant along the coasts, large rivers and 

 lakes. In Sind it is a winter visitant. 



Mr. Sharpe {Gat. Ace. p. 450) remarks that "Ospreys seem to get 

 whiter on the head with age. The mottling on the breast is strongly 

 marked in all old birds, and that the tail becomes more uniform brown 

 wilh ago, so that a strongly barred tail is a sure sign of immaturity." 

 zll 



