328 
Mr. J. H. Gurney's Notes on 
ridge; lower down, towards the bases of the primaries, it 
changes into dusky brown; most of the feathers of the breast 
and upper abdomen are cloudily tipped with dull brown; and 
on the lower abdomen the centre of most of the feathers is 
clouded with brown throughout the entire length of the 
feather: these brown marks are seen when the bird is closely 
examined; otherwise the general tone of the lower surface at 
a little distance is tolerably bright rufous, and of a somewhat 
darker tone than that of the head. The iris was clear light 
brown; bill pale bluish grey with dark tip, cere and gape 
cream-colour, the former having a faint tinge of green; feet 
yellowish. Total length 27*5 inches, wing 21, tail 11*25, tar¬ 
sus 4*25, from the end of the tibia to the end of the tarsus 
9*75; the nostril a broad oval, placed obliquely as in the 
larger Spotted Eagle." 
Mr. Brooks adds :—“ In most of the immature birds pro¬ 
cured in the buff plumage, the nostril is quite circular; I 
have, however, a buff bird almost changed to the adult tawny- 
red, which has the nostrils shaped as in the adult female above 
described. In this changing specimen a good many pale buff 
feathers remain, showing the connexion between the buff and 
the rufous stage, and many of the half-opened feathers show 
the darker plumage to be the new one. Aquila fulvescens is 
not a robust Eagle like A . ncevioides, but is long-legged like 
A. hast at a ; it is a marsh-frequenting and migratory Eagle, 
coming to the plains of India only in the cold season ; it is 
very rare, and its summer quarters are unknown." 
I am also informed by Mr. Brooks that the male bird of the 
immature pair of A. fulvescens now in the possession of Mr. 
Hancock, and to which I have already referred, was shot by 
him in February 1868, and was then supposed to be a speci¬ 
men of the larger Spotted Eagle in an undescribed state of 
plumage. Mr. Brooks also informs me that this is the speci¬ 
men which was described at p. 168 of Mr. Hume's f Scrap¬ 
book' as “ Aquila ncevia , no. 1," and the measurements of 
which are there given in detail on the preceding page. This 
description must therefore be taken as applying to the imma¬ 
ture plumage of ^. fulvescens , and the measurements as those 
