112 Proceedings of tlie Asiatic Society. [July, 



Description of a new species of Spizaetus. — By Lieut. -Col. Robt. C. 



Tytler of H. M.'s Indian Army. 



Spizaetus Andamanensis. 



" Length from 23 to 24 inches ; from bend of wing to tip of longest 



quill feather, 12 inches ; length of tail 9 inches ; tarsus 3 J inches ; irides 



yellow ; cere dark yellowish green ; feet yellow ; plumage of upper parts 



dark brown, many feathers edged with fulvous and showing white 



under the feathers; lower portion of back and rump light fulvous 



brown, with dark markings ; inner web of quill feathers white and 



mottled with dark grey ; tail dark brown with about 6 bars of a lighter 



colour ; both wing and tail feathers whitish underneath, with dark 



grey bands ; all the plumage of the under parts white, with light 



fulvous about the throat ; flanks, marked with dark streaks ; thighs 



rufous, with light transverse bars ; under the bend of the wing 



there are numerous dark and rufous spots ; head and nape fulvous, 



with dark streaks ; the head is crested very slightly ; there is a strong 



resemblance in this species to the Spizaetus limnaetus, but it is in every 



respect a much smaller bird ; the tarsus is well feathered down to the 



toes, which latter are armed with strong claws ; the points of the 1, 2 



and 3 quill feathers are black, after which they become barred, with 



broad grey markings : 4th and 5th quill feathers are the longest. 



il I found a great many of this species on the branches of mangrove 

 trees in swampy ground, at Port Blair, Andamans, and, judging from 

 the few observations I could make of them in such unfavourable 

 ground, I should say that their food consists of fish and other sea 

 animals, for I found portions of undigested fish, crabs, &c, in the birds 

 I shot. They are by no means timid, on the contrary they allow 

 themselves to be approached within twenty or thirty yards without 

 shewing the slightest alarm." 



Read the following extract from a letter from Mr. L. B. Bowring 

 on the subject of the Canarese Inscriptions in Mysore. 



" I have had a great many of the Canarese Inscriptions on stone 

 Shasanas photographed, and am going, with the permission of Govern- 

 ment, to send the Society a set. There are about 100 inscriptions, but 

 there are none older probably than 700 years, and the majority /ire much 

 more recent. There are so very few learned natives in these parts, 

 that it is difficult to get the old Canarese translated, and some of the 



