i6o allen’s naturalist’s library. 
Adult Male, — General colour above and below dark chocolate- 
brown, almost black. The wing-coverts rather lighter brown, 
and the hinder crown and nape inclining to sandy-buff ; quills 
and tail almost uniform brown, the latter with a few greyish 
mottlings or indications of bars in old individuals. Total 
length, 26-5 inches; culmen, 2-4; wing, 20-5; tail, 10-5 ; tar- 
sus, 3-9. 
Adult Female.— Similar to the male, but larger. Total length, 
29 inches; wing, 2i'S; tail, ii'S; tarsus, 4'2. 
Young Birds. — Of a purplish-brown colour ; wing-coverts like 
the back, the median coverts with a few longitudinal streaks of 
dull white, which become much larger and take the form of 
oval spots on the greater and primary-coverts, as well as on the 
tips of the scapul.ars ; the quills blackish, the ^secondaries 
rather browner, with faint bars of black, and oval white spots 
at the tips like the scapulars ; lower back and rump with dis- 
tinct triangular spots of ochraceous-buff, the upper tail-coverts 
almost uniform buffy-white; tail-feathers blackish, browner 
towards their ends, which are tipped with whity-brown, the 
feathers crossed with three or four bars of blackish-brown near 
the tips ; under surface of body blackish, browner on the chin, 
the breast streaked with pale brown down the centre of the 
feathers, the abdomen and feathers of the leg rather more 
ochraccous ; under tail-coverts ochraceous-buff ; under wing- 
coverts blackish, the axillaries rather browner ; greater under 
wing-coverts ashy-brown, and white at the base like the prim- 
ary-quills. Total length, 26 inches; wing, 20; tail, lo'o ; tar- 
sus, 3-9. 
Characters. — An adult Spotted Eagle can always be told from 
an adult Golden Eagle by its smaller size, and by its tail being 
uniform below. This character will also distinguish the young 
birds of the two species, the Golden Eagle having the base of 
the tail white, and showing none of the large spots on the 
wings, from which the Spotted Eagle has derived its popular 
name. 
Eange in Great Britain. — A rare and occasional visitant, occur- 
ring apparently only in late autumn and winter. Two were 
obtained near Youghal in Ireland in January 1845. Two 
more have been shot in Cornwall in December i860 and 
