AQUILA N.EVIA. 
Spotted Eag*le. 
Falco ncevius et maculatus, Gmel. edit. Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. i. p. 258. 
Aquila ruevia, Meyer, Taschenb. Deutschl. Vog., tom. i. p. 19. 
pomarina, Brehm, Vdg. Deutschl., tom. i. p. 27. 
planga, Vieill. Ency. Meth. Orn., part iii. p. 1190. 
bifasciata, Hornsch. 
melanaetos, Savig. Descr. de I’Egypte, Hist. Nat., tom. i. p. 84. 
vittata, Hodgs. in Gray’s Zool. Misc., 1844, p. 81 
anatraja, Savi, Orn. Tosc., tom. ii. p. 22. 
Spizaetus fuscus, Vieill. Nouv. Diet. d’Hist. Nat., tom. xxxii. p. 60. 
Although the Spotted Eagle is one of the smallest members of its genus, it is in every respect a 
true Aquila ; and had it been a native of the British Islands instead of an accidental visitor, it would 
have been an important species in the Raptorial division of our avifauna. In Mr. Rodd’s useful 
‘ List of British Birds as a guide to the Ornithology of Cornwall,’ two instances are given of its 
occurrence in that county in the following words : — 
“ The capture of the first English example of this rare Eagle took place on the 4th of December, 
1860, in the eastern part of Cornwall, at a large covert called Hawk’s Wood, the property of Francis 
Rodd, Esq., of Trebartha Hall, adjoining the large moors between Hawk’s Tor and Kilmar, and not 
very far from the well-known Cheese-wring. Hawk’s Tor and Kilmar Tor rank amongst the highest 
hills in Cornwall, reaching in altitude from 1000 to 1200 feet; the characters of these hills and the 
moors about them in every direction are exactly similar to those on Dartmoor; in fact, the range 
is a continuation of the great granite tract extending, with some few interruptions, to the Land’s-end. 
The bird was first observed in a tree, from which, on the approach of the shooting party, instead of 
soaring, it shuffled down, and scrambled under some rocks ; its condition was beyond the average of 
birds of prey, large masses of fat encircling the gizzard, which, on dissection, was entirely empty ; one 
of the wing-bones was broken, but whether with shot or otherwise I could not determine ; the body, 
wings, and every part of the bird exhibited the most perfect form ; but probably the injury above 
mentioned prevented it from taking flight. It was a male in the first year’s plumage, and weighed 
4 lbs. 1 oz. 
“A second example, almost in a similar state of plumage, was killed near Carnanton, in November, 
1861; it is now in the Truro Museum,” whence it was kindly sent up to London for my use; and 
my best thanks are here offered to Dr. Barham and the Council of the Royal Institution of Cornwall 
for the service they thus rendered to the present work. It will be seen by the hinder figure how 
much the young and adult differ in plumage. No other species of Aquila, in fact, offers so great a 
contrast, the livery in the latter state being nearly uniform in colour, while the other is so much 
marked and ornamented. It is somewhat strange that this continental species should have visited 
one of our southern counties, while, according to Mr. Rodd, the Golden Eagle, a bird which commonly 
breeds in Scotland, should never have been seen there ; it forms another instance in exemplification 
of the western movement of Continental species. 
Although I have given precedence to the English-killed specimens of the Spotted Eagle, I must 
not fail to state that a place in our avifauna was first assigned to it by Mr. Yarrell in the supplement 
to his ‘ History of British Birds,’ where he says, “For the particulars of the occurrence of this interesting 
addition to the ornithology of the British Islands, I am indebted to Mr. Robert Davis, jun., of Clonmel. 
“ This specimen,” observes Mr. Davis, “ was shot on the estate of the Earl of Shannon, and was at the 
time in a fallow field devouring a rabbit. Another bird similarly marked, but reported to be of a lighter 
shade of brown, was shot at the same place within a few days, but unfortunately was not preserved ; both 
had been noticed during the two previous months, sweeping over the low grounds in the neighbourhood, 
which is near Youghal, and between Castle Martyr aud Clay Castle.” 
The proper home of the Aquila nasma is the southern and eastern countries of Europe, North Africa, 
Asia Minor, Palestine, and probably Western India ; I say probably, because the bird inhabiting the Indian 
Peninsula has by some writers been considered distinct; but Mr. Blyth, no mean authority, believes 
in their identity, and says the bird is also abundant in the Himalayas, and in the wooded and watery 
portions of Central and Southern India. 
