CRESTED HAWK. 
mottlings on the inner wehs towards the base, the outer pair of feathers paler, 
the grey at the tips more extended and the black band much reduced in width ; 
crown of head and nape slate-grey, the tips of the crest-feathers blackish ; eyelids 
blackish ; sides of face and mantle pale slate-grey ; the feathers of the fore-head, 
cheeks and throat have black, hair-like shafts ; throat and fore-neck ash-grey 
with an ochreous tinge ; breast, sides of body and flanks rather broadly barred 
with chestnut and white, the white being tinged more or less with chestnut ; lower 
abdomen, vent, under tail-coverts, thighs and under wing-coverts imiform fawn 
colour ; axiUaries white barred with grey ; the greater series of the under wing- 
coverts white tinged with fawn colour ; lower aspect of quiUs and tail-feathers 
silvery-grey with dark bars ; second to fifth primaries incised on the outer web, 
inner webs scarcely incised. BiU blue-black, cere blue ; eyes and eyelid yellow ; 
feet bluish-white. Total length 480 mm. ; culmen 22, wing 328, tail 195. 
Figured. Collected in New South Wales. 
An adult from Queensland has the breast, sides of body and flanks barred with 
bronze-brown and white. 
Adult female. Similar to the adult male but larger. Wing 342 mm., tarsus 38. Collected 
at Mackay, Queensland. 
Immature has the head dark brown ; mantle and breast rufous ; the bars on the 
under-surface narrower and lighter in colour ; under tail-coverts and under wing- 
coverts like the breast ; tail greyish-brown crossed by four darker bands ; upper- 
surface brown with rufous edgings ; primaries and secondaries tipped with white. 
As the birds get older, the bars on the tail become more and more obsolete and 
the end becomes black, the rest becomes more as in the adult ; the head becomes 
bluer-grey and the breast grey ; the bars on the breast increase in width and in the 
fully adult are brownish -grey. 
Nest. Composed of sticks and lined with leaves. Outside measurements : 15 inches 
by 8 deep ; inside 6 by 2 deep. 
Eggs. Clutch, three or four. Bluish-white. Axis 41-44 mm., diameter 34-35. 
Breeding-season. October to December. 
This beautiful bird was first described by Gould, whose notes read : “I am 
not sufiiciently acquainted with this singular species to give any account 
of its habits and economy ; but judging from the feebleness of its bill and 
talons and the shortness of its tarsi, I conceive that it principally preys 
upon insects and their larvae ; and it is not improbable that honey and 
the larvae of bees and ants, which abound in Australia, may form a portion 
of its food. ... I saw it soaring high in the air over the plains in the 
neighbourhood of the Namoi, but never sufficiently near to admit of a 
successful shot. All the specimens I have seen were collected either at 
Moreton Bay or on the banks of the Clarence.” 
Ramsay added : “ Usually found (at Rockingham Bay) in pairs about 
the margins of the scrubs and bushes. It is a harmless, inofiensive species, 
feeding chiefly on insects and their larvae, or occasionally on dead animals.” 
Berney has noted : “ On 30th June, 1902, I was fortunate enough to 
get a good look with my glasses at close quarters at one of these curious 
Hawks. It showed no sign of fear of me, and as it clung to an almost upright 
VOL. V. 
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