234 
Mr. J. H. Gurney’s Notes on 
nearer to the latter than to the former; in both specimens 
the older portions of the plumage are so worn and faded as 
to be of little use in the diagnosis between such closely 
allied races. 
Aquila vindhiana of India, though very closely allied to A. 
rapace and A. albicans , is, on the average of specimens, a 
rather smaller bird than either. In coloration it comes nearest 
to A. albicans ; but the latter seems never to assume the pe¬ 
culiar grey tint on the head, neck, and underparts which 
Mr. Sharpe defines as a “ greyish mouse-colour ” in his de¬ 
scription of the “ young” stage of A. vindhiana *. 
Mr. Sharpe’s description of this plumage and of that of an 
adult female may be supplemented by a reference to the par¬ 
ticulars given in Jerdon’s f Birds of India/ vol. i. p. 60, and in 
Mr. Hume’s ' Scrap-book,’ p. 176t, also by the description of 
the nestling-plumage in Hume’s f Nests and Eggs of Indian 
Birds,’ p. 30; to the information afforded by these authorities, 
I may add the following note, dated July 1875, for which I 
am indebted to the kindness of Mr. W. E. Brooks :—“ I have 
A. vindhiana from the nest to old age : the nestling is a light- 
toned bird, rather tawny on the body-plumage; the second plu¬ 
mage is of a dull greyish brown, somewhat like the brown of 
immature A. nipalensis; this passes into the dark brown bird, 
either wholly dark brown, or with part of the body whity 
brown. The whity-brown stage is that of a very old bird; but 
it is possible that younger birds, the colours of which are not 
fast, might, in a comparatively short time, reach the whity- 
brown stage. This species is subject to great variation; and 
I have not seen two birds quite alike.” 
I may also observe that in fully adult specimens of A. 
vindhiana , particoloured feathers, of two shades of brown, 
frequently occur on the upper scapulars and lesser wing- 
* Specimens of A. vindhiana exhibiting this grey tint are scarce in col¬ 
lections ; the British Museum possesses such a one in very perfect unfaded 
plumage, from which I presume Mr. Sharpe took his description of the 
“ young ” bird. 
t In both these works the present species is referred to under the name 
of Aquila fulvescens. 
