222 
Capt. L. H. Irby on Birds 
noticed one other at an elevation of nearly 10,000 feet, about fifteen 
or twenty miles from Milum, one of the passes into Thibet. 
This Eagle cannot be a very common bird in Kumaon, as during 
two months there I only saw these two. The specimen which I 
obtained, which is now in the Norwich Museum, had the inside 
of the mouth and throat covered with small pieces of egg-shell, 
apparently that of the Cheer ( Phasianus wallichii ), or Chickore 
(Caccabis chukar); hence, of course, Jerdon's synonym “ ovi- 
vorus.” Is not this bird nearly allied to the Honey Buzzards ? 
The European species ( Pernis apivoro) has been known to feed, 
in a wild state, on Thrushes 5 eggs (Zool. p. 3707), and the Marsh 
Harrier ( Circus reruginosus) has also been found to do the same. 
The irides of the Black Eagle are yellow. 
22. Buteo rufinus. (Long-legged Buzzard.) 
Common near wooded jungle. I took four large rats (swal¬ 
lowed whole) out of the stomach of one. The irides of this 
Buzzard are golden-coloured. 
23. Pandion haliaetus. (Osprey.) 
Not observed in Oudh, but doubtless occurs there, as it is 
“ common throughout India in all suitable localities 55 according 
to Mr. Blyth's Catalogue. I obtained it at Nynee Tal, at an 
elevation of about 5500 feet, in June 1859, when it was fre¬ 
quently seen there. The shikarees, or native hunters, told me 
that it nested at Bheem Tal, another mountain lake at a lower 
elevation, fifteen miles from Nynee Tal. 
24. Haliaetus macei. (Mace's Sea Eagle.) 
Irides dark brown. This “Sea" Eagle is very common in 
Oudh in the cold season, and always seen in the vicinity of rivers 
and jheels; it makes a very large nest of sticks, on tall trees 
close to water. I never obtained the eggs myself, though some 
men of my regiment took the eggs on the 19th of November, 
1859, but ate them on the spot, to my intense disgust. 
I repeatedly found the young in January and February. There 
were never more than two, and sometimes only one, in each 
nest; hence I conclude the number of eggs to be usually two. I 
brought up three young birds, one of which (pinioned) lived for 
eighteen months. The other two used to sit on the top of my 
