570 



ON SOME SPECIES OF THE 



It is the prevailing opinion among many French 

 ornithologists of the present day, that the Falc6 

 fulvus^ or Ring-tailed Eagle, is specifically the 

 same as the Falco chrysaetos, or Golden Eagle. 



Having lately examined several of the conti- 

 nental collections, I have had an opportunity of 

 observing the variations presented by age and sex, 

 and the effects of climate on many species of the 

 feathered race. 



In the celebrated collection of Swiss birds, 

 formed by the late M. Sprungli of Berne, the 

 specimen of the Golden Eagle resembles in all re- 

 spects, that in the Parisian cabinet ; but the bird 

 in the latter collection, supposed to be the young 

 of that species, by some of the French naturalists, 

 though described as a distinct species by preced- 

 ing writers on ornithology, under the name of 

 F. fulvus, or Ring-tailed Eagle, is not the same as 

 the young of the Golden Eagle preserved by M. 

 Sprungli. 



This, conjoined with some other circumstances, 

 induces me in this instance, to doubt the accu- 

 racy of the Parisian nomenclature. 



In the Swiss specimen, which is known to be 

 the young of the Golden Eagle, the tail has no 

 appearance of a ring or band at the base. The 

 feathers there, are bluish-black, barred with brown 

 and ash colour, the overlying central tail feathers 

 being likewise barred, but the ground colour is 

 brownish-black. The bill is of a deep blue co- 



