CRESTED EAGLES. 
217 
the under wing-coverts are also mostly white. The tail has dark bars. The bill 
is bluish, with a black tip; the cere and feet are yellow, and the claws black. 
This eagle is one of the most widely distributed of African Accipitrines, rang¬ 
ing all over that continent, from the Cape to the Red Sea, wherever there are 
wooded districts. It frequents mountains and plains alike; and is even represented 
in such of the open regions as have patches of mimosa-jungle, more especially on 
the river-banks. In the wooded parts of the upper Nile it is especially common; 
where it may be seen sitting placidly among the branches of a mimosa, not far 
removed from the main stem. From this coign of vantage it watches for its prey, 
swooping down like lightning upon any mouse, rat, ground-squirrel, or dove, or other 
small bird that may come within its range. In its general habits it is very similar 
to the crested eagles, and, for its size, is one of the most powerful and active of the 
Accipitrines. In addition to small mammals and birds, it consumes numbers of 
lizards and snakes, and also eats fish and frogs; while, when hard pressed, it will 
resort to carrion. It has been seen perched on a branch in the neighbourhood 
of a slaughter-house, watching its opportunity to feast on the offal or to seize a 
bone. Little is known of its breeding-habits, although it is said to nest in trees, 
and lay two nearly round eggs, of a pale ground-colour blotched with reddish 
brown. 
There is a difference of opinion among’ ornithologists as to the 
Crested Eagles. 0 0 
best English name to be applied to the members of the present genus, 
some terming them hawk-eagles, while by others they are designated crested eagles. 
In the British Museum the latter designation is adopted, and the term hawk-eagles 
applied to the members of the genus Nisaetus ; and it is this ruling which is followed 
here. These eagles are readily distinguished by the crest (occasionally absent) being 
very much smaller than in the African crested eagle, and by their shorter wings. 
The beak is short, sharply curved at the tip, and with a prominent festoon; the 
toes are large, and very unequal; and the claws strong and much curved. The 
genus is represented by a considerable number of species, and has a very wide geo¬ 
graphical distribution. It is spread all over Africa, the Indian and Malayan regions, 
Celebes, Japan, and Formosa; and it is found in Central and South America, 
exclusive of the extreme south. 
The species shown on next page ( Spizaetus bellicosus ) is from South Africa, and 
is one of the largest members of the genus, the total length of the female being 31 
inches. It belongs to a group in which the chest is uniformly coloured, and is 
distinguished from some of its allies by the barred tail. In the immature bird, of 
which our figure is an example, the general colour of the upper-parts is pale brown, 
with white margins to the feathers of the back; the feathers of the head and neck 
are white, with a terminal spot of brown; the greater and primary wing-coverts 
and quills are ashy brown, tipped with white, and barred with darker brown; and 
the tail-feathers are likewise ashy brown, with huffish white tips, and crossed with 
eleven dark brown bars. With the exception of a few dark brown spots on the 
chest and under wing-coverts, the whole of the under-parts are uniform huffish 
white. In the adult the general colour becomes dark brown above, the head being 
dark brown, with narrow pale margins to the feathers; the tail has but six bars; 
and the front of the neck and chest are dark brown, the remainder of the under 
