ms vapiodisane hm rete tinhnn ronan rchas te: LedietiertetiaritelwRa twin tees ie rience i talhyr certo ali Yogtirs tain tats Sark ten tin Ga CSR te Shay aa : Pobr irene Map tnah ne Leinc nt CP me hm neg: aw iia ells Fm ens IE Fn Ne om tet alin Pate DP Tn edhe _ - aon ret acs et af mike gt Aah. 2- Sop tne Samet yee + SS masogh Aisa cer ie Samir yo! ~ 57 Rrdaph det Daw! etnevdonet meets iy = 1% INP eta recente =~ Sef i” wars aoe} ee Se el Cet OIE 2 tT. OP wove ai rnatier), = i ne 3a a ree Me “Ss ieee fi ate 4 fsck #4 LN. > rhe ys Zs i ~ ae of. fs) “~ d “@ +e EM oo eae eR pe ee RR RRL NER ba a me nr er ee THE BIRDS OF INDIA. —q BIBDS OF INDIA AN ak WAS TORY THE BIRDS KNOWN TO INHABIT CONTINENTAL INDIA: WITH Descriptions of the Species, Genera, Families, Tribes, and Orders, and a Brief Notice of such Families as are not found in India, MAKING IT A MANUAL OF ORNITHOLOGY SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR INDIA, BYes TC JER DON, SURGEON MAJOR, MADRAS ARMY, Author of ‘‘ Tilustrations of Indian Ornithology.” & wy Jw Gwo Volumes, VOL. I; ‘iy pp 7 Sa Galentia: PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR BY THE MILITARY ORPHAN PRESS. 6, BANKSHALL STREET, ——EE 1862. “GM tHSOf,7>- - “fo ran Ricut HonoraBur Tur EARL or ELGIN anp KINCARDINE, i eG. CoB) AND). STs, Viceroy and Governor General of India. May IT PLEASE YouR EXCELLENCY; Tue following pages, which contain a portion of my observations on the Natural History of this Country, could not be more appropriately dedicated than to the head of the Government of India, under whose auspices, and by whose assistance, the Work has been undertaken. It has, therefore, been to me a source of high eratification that your Lordship’s permission has authorized me to lay before your Excellency this contribution to the knowledge of the Brrps of InprA. I am, with great respect, Your Excellency’s most obedient servant, , Ce Jurvoy, Calcutta, 1862. Surgeon Major. Pte wd sts i Neg nis C4 eet ek ‘ hk aie 1) Pe 4 i 7 ae *y s Ab) 4 we Uae Hui ele se, yuttue.7a | A am y ay Bi TE TY id > 40st) tee er tee OAL fi ia fa i nvuity §ity JAG PROSPECTUS. —-+ £363 THE want of brief, but comprehensive, Manuals of the Natural History of, India has been long felt by all interested in such inquiries. At the present, it is necessary to search through voluminous transactions of learned Societies, and scientific Journals, to obtain any general acquaintance with what has been already ascertained regarding the Fauna of India, and, excepting to a few more . favorably placed, even these are inaccessible. The issue of a MANUAL, which should comprise all available information in sufficient detail for the discrimination and identification of such objects of Natural History as might be met with, without being rendered cumbrous by minutiz of synonymy or of history, has therefore long been considered a desideratum. To meet this want it is proposed to publish a series of such Manuals for all the Vertebrated Animals of India, containing characters of all the classes, orders, families, and genera, and descriptions of all the species of all Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, and Fishes, found in India. : The geographic limits referred to in this Work will be, on the North the water-shed of the Himalayas ; on the East the Teesta river, to its junction with the Brahmapootra, and thence down the latter river to the Bay of Bengal; on the West the Indus from its exit from the hills to Kurrachee ; and on the South Cape Comorin. The object will be to enable Naturalists and Travellers to identify any ani- mals they may meet with, and for this purpose the descriptions, without being minute, will be ample for discrimination. The habits and resorts of the dif- ferent animals will be described as far as is known, and their geographical distribution investigated, and on these points the author’s own experience in many parts of the country, from Darjeeling to Trichinopoly, will enable him to give much new information. Short observations on the anatomy of the various families, and references to allied groups, not Indian, will be given, thus rendering the work a Hand-book of Zoology specially adapted for India. Each Class will be published separately, and they will comprise— He PBIRDS ce. ce ieses) joss ease TM WOR VOLUMES.) SvO MIAMMTATS I Weep ieee) ees!) eect eee A One volume, 3 IREPRIGES! Mises dele) cite cel cena En OneN Volumes 5 RISHESH Jie osu nimeeel eset) ieseul/-aerth MONE) OL stWOuvOle. 1h Ban! A ify 4 OSTA ¢ Rigi 3 ae i Ray. CMR i wh d va iN Bip) Sh oa Wael ie = Se PREFACE. Tue present work is the first of a series of Manuals which the Author proposes to bring out, if his health be spared, on the Natural History of the Vertebrated Animals of India. The want of such books has long been greatly felt in this country; and the increasing attention now paid to Natural History calls, more imperatively, for the fulfilment of this desideratum. The author’s uninterrupted residence for above a quar- ter of a century in India, during which period he has diligently examined the Faunz of the different districts in which he has been a resident, or a traveller, has enabled him to give, in detail, from personal observation, the geographic distribution and limits of most of the animals of this country; for, with the exception of the North-West Provinces, the Punjab, and Sindh, he has traversed and re-traversed the length and breadth of the continent of India, and has also visited Burmah. This experience, and an earnest wish to be of use to naturalists and travellers in India, are the author’s chief claims for attempting such an ambitious task; and, had others better qualified come forward, he would have relin- quished, however unwillingly, what to him has been a labor of love. He has, however, had the inestimable ad- vantage of constant correspondence, and, in latter years, of personal intercourse, with Mr. Blyth of the Asiatic Society’s Museum, than whom no one would have been better qualified to write such a work, had his health been good, and his time his own. But the constant drudgery PREFACE of his unassisted labors, and above twenty-one years’ resi- dence in Calcutta, have so far injured his health as to pre- clude the present hope of his publishing a separate work. His voluminous writings, however, Reports, Notices, Mono- graphs, &c., scattered through Twenty (20) volumes of the Journal of the Asiatic Society, and in various English scientific periodicals, are permanent proofs of his great talents and industry; and, were it not for those writings and the fine collection he has been the chief means of making in Calcutta, the present work would be much more imperfect than it now is. Mr. Blyth has seen the present work, during its slow progress through the press, which he has most kindly assisted the Author in correcting; and has added much valuable information from his own knowledge and ex- perience. All these advantages, however, would have been unavail- able, and the present publication would not have seen the light so early, had it not been for the enlightened liberality of the late deeply regretted Viceroy, Earl Canning. When the projected expedition to Tibet (of which the author was to have formed a member) was postponed, in consequence of the inability to obtain pass- ports from Pekin, his Excellency most cordially placed him on special duty, with a view to the publication of the present work; thus giving him full leisure to devote to the completion of his researches, and to the progress of the book through the press, The sanction likewise given him to prosecute his scientific enquiries, in any quarter, has been the means of increasing our knowledge of the geographic distribution of many Birds, and has also added several new species to the Indian Faune. PREFACE, The author trusts that the many imperfections, some of them, perhaps, unavoidable, of the present publication, will be rectified hereafter; and he begs that these will be freely pointed out to him, by the many observers now in India, with a view to their rectification in a Supplement, or, it may be, in a future edition. He trusts, if his present leisure for scientific pursuits be continued, to be able to add greatly to our knowledge of the geographic distribution of the birds, and of the natural history, gener- ally, of these provinces, On sufficient materials being available, he will, at once, issue a Supplement. The 2nd volume is in the Press, and will be published as soon as possible. - ah aa Bes rt CONTENTS Or VOLT Tntroduction,.:. os. Orv. RAPTORKS, Fam. VULTURIDA, Vulturing, ... Neophroninz, Gypaetine, Fam. POLYBORIDS, ... Fam. SERPENTARIDA, ... Fam. FaLconip2, Higiconimeeyay mess Accipitrine, oc Aquiline, Buteoning, ... Milvince es sitiaes Fam. STRIGIDZ, eohaves Strigina,... Syrmiinz, ... Asionine, Buboning, ... ... Surniing, Orp. INSESSORES,... ... ... Tribe. FissiIrosTRES, eelgrass Fam. HIRUNDINIDA,... .«.. Hirundining, ... Cypselina, ... os. Fam. CAPRIMULGID, ... Steatorninz, ee Caprimulginz,... eco @eccee ceo e ° ©2020 8 coeacrece ee eco eco eee Beeecce ° eco e eve @e 8 8=eeecce ° eos eotece eee e ece ece eco eco 8=eee 8 8§=eserce ee. e eee . @e20 8 coseee ° eco e Geeece eve eco e e @o Ge ° veo evo e ece 8 e20208 CONTENTS. Fam. TROGONIDA, Fam. MEROPIDA, oe. Fam. CoracIaAD@, Fam. HaLcyonip&, Halcyonine Alcedinine, > Fam. EURYLAIMIDAL, ec. Fam. BuceROTIDA, Tribe SCANSORES, Fam. PsiTtTacip#, Palzornina, Loriine, ... Ham) os ne ee a INTRODUCTION. XXXVil These two orders, viz., the Natatores and Grallatores, comprise the ‘Water birds’ of popular writers on Ornithology. Still looking to the feet, we find a certain number of birds with the leg feathered to the tarsus, or beyond it, with the feet strong, the claws blunt, and with the hind toe (in most) very small, and above the plane of the others. Whilst, in the two last orders, there was a great variety in the form of the beak, here it is usually short, and vaulted, and the nostrils are covered by a soft tumid scale. The birds are plump and heavy with short wings, and the head small, When, to these characters, we add that a fifth rudi- mentary toe is frequently present, in the form of a spur, every one must see at once that the Game birds or Gallinaceous birds are intended. These are the Galline of Linnzus and Cuvier, the Gallinacei of Vieillot, and the Rasores of Vigors and Swainson. In this, as well as In the last order, the hallux is occasionally wanting, and there is frequently a rudiment of a web between the anterior toes. From Gallinaceous birds most Ornitho- logists now separate the Pigeons, which differ from the irue Rasores by their more perfect hind toe, on the same plane as the anterior toes, by their more slender and less vaulted beak, and also by the fact of their young being, when hatched, callow and helpless, instead of being feather- ed, and able to run, as in the true Game birds. This phy- siological difference, however, exists, also, both among the wading and swimming birds, which are not usually divided in consequence (although Bonaparte latterly did so) ; and the Pigeons are confessedly nearer to the Gallinacez than to any of the Insessorial birds. The Pigeons constitute the Columbe of Willoughby and others, and the Gemrrores of Blyth, which I shall for convenience adopt as a sub-order, XXXVIi1 INTRODUCTION. though theoretically I consider them a subordinate type of the Rasores. The remaining birds have the toes all upon the same plane, and the hallux is never wanting, though, in a few instances, the inner toe is deficient. Among them, some may be distinguished by their strong, curved, and often toothed bill, furnished with a cere, or naked mem- brane at the base; and by their strong feet, with generally curved, sharp, and, often, partially retractile talons. They are mostly of large size, and feed exclusively on animal diet. They constitute the Birds of prey of British authors, and are the Accipitres of Linneeus, the Rapaces of Illiger, and the Raprores of Vigors. Several of these birds have, still, a small web between their anterior toes. The whele of the remaining birds, which are more numerous than all the others put together, are the Passerine birds of some, the Perching birds of others, the Ivsessorgs of Vigors. They are chiefly distinguishable from the previous orders by negative characters. They are, by many, divided into two or more sub-orders, viz., into Picee and Passeres by Linneus; Scansores and Passeres by Cuvier; Volucres and Oscines by Bonaparte; into Scansores, Pice, and Passeres by Blyth and by Temminck into seven orders, each equiva- lent to the previous five orders. As I consider that. the differ- ences, pointed out in these divisions by various natura- lists, are not greater than those allowed in the other orders, and that, moreover, these lesser divisions would not be of equivalent value to those orders, I prefer retaining all under Insessores, as indeed most of our English writers have done. Nearly in conformity, then, with Gray’s ‘List of Genera and Sub-genera of Birds,’ and Uorsficld’s ‘Catalogue of mre INTRODUCTION. XXX1X Birds in the Museum, E. I. C.,’ in the present work I shall classify birds in the following Orders :— i) RArrorns: Birds of Prey. II. Insessores, Perching Birds. Ill. Gemirorzs, Pigeons. iV. Rasorss, Game Birds. V. Gratziatores, Wading birds. VI. Nararores, Swimming Birds. The Student will find the characters of these orders, and their division into tribes and families under their respec- tive heads; and I will here, simply, content myself with begging the reader to understand that it is most difficult to define accurately, or to generalize characters in this, as in other classes of animals; the truth being, as before stated, that every great group contains within itself several distinct types. A few words on the geographic divisions of the province to which I have restricted the “ Birds of India,” and for which I refer to the Prospectus. ‘The country, to which the Ornithology of the following volumes is confined, may be conveniently divided into Northern, Central and Southern India. Northern India comprises Bengal proper, the North-west Provinces, the Punjab and Sindh, and the whole extent of the Himalayas, from Cashmere to Bootan. LTexclude Assam, Sylhet, Tipperah and Chittagong, for, though most of the birds are identical, yet here commences the peculiar Indo-Chinese Fauna, which extends through Burmah to China, and Malayana.* * T would have greatly liked to have included all British India, from Assam to Tenasserim and Ceylon, in the scope of the present work ; but I was afraid that this addition would have swelled my work to an unwieldy bulk, If, on the near comple- tion of the 2nd volume, I find that it can be done without making too thick a volume, I will add a Supplement containing descriptions of all the species found in that tract of country, with reference to the pages where they should have come in due course. xl INTRODUCTION, Central India includes Nagpore, north of the Godavery, the valley of the Nerbudda, with Saugor and Mhow; Bundel- cund, and the countries extending on the East towards Cuttack and Midnapore. In Southern India I distinguish Malabar, including Wynaad, Coorg, the whole extent of the Western Ghats, and the slopes of the Neilgherries ; the Carnatic; the Northern Cirears; and the Table land of Mysore, Bellary, and Hyderabad, as far as the Godavery. Malabar is, throughout, a forest country ; the Northera Cirears and the Eastern part of Central India, and Eastern Bengal, are well wooded or jungly ; aud the Himalayas are clad with thick and lofty forest. The Carnatic and still more the Table land, the Western portion of Central India, Western Bengal, the N. W. Provinces, Punjab, and Sindh, are all more or less bare and denuded of forest ; though patches of jungle occasionally occur, and the hilly parts are more or less wooded. In the Eastern parts of Bengal, tracts of gigantic grass jungle exist, unknown elsewhere, except, partially, on the banks of a few rivers. Malabar, the Eastern Himalayas, Eastern Bengal, and the neighbouring districts of Central India, are respectively, and in the order here mentioned, the districts in which most rain falls; the Punjab and Sindh and parts of the Carnatic, and of the Table land, the driest provinces. The Punjab and N. W. Provinces are at once the hottest, and the coldest, climates in India. Southern India, from its vicinity to the Equator, is more uniformly warm than Central and Northern India, but, the sea breeze, extend- ing its influence over the narrow continent, moderates the heat, and the excessive summer temperature of Northern and Central India is unknown in the South. Bengal, again, though nearly equally cold in winter with Central India, INTRODUCTION. xh from its moister climate, wants the parching hot winds of those provinces and of the North West. Malabar, including the Neilgherries, possesses several species of birds unknown in other parts of India, some of _ them, but not all, also found in Ceylon. The Carnatic, the Table-land of Southern India, and Central India, have only three or four species found nowhere else. Bengal has several, not found in the other districts, but all these are common to it and the countries to the eastward. The North-west provinces, and the Punjab, have likewise several forms, not found in other parts of India, but most of these are not peculiar to that region, but extend into the neighbouring Provinces of Asia. The Himalayas have a double Fauna, unknown in the plains: the one is common to these mountains, and to the hilly regions of Assam and Burmah; and the other, in the higher portions of the range, is common to them with Tibet and Northern Asia. Many species of Birds, however, have, hitherto, been found nowhere else.* Major Franklin was the first writer who published an Ornithological Fauna of part of India (Proc., Zool. Soce., 1831); and he was very shortly followed by Tickell, in a List of the Birds of Borabhum and Dholbum (Journal, Asiat. Society, 1833), and by Colonel Sykes with his Cata- logue of the Birdsof the Bombay Deccan (Proc. Zool. poc., 1832). ; Mr. Hodgson, for many years our accomplished Resi- dent at the Court of Nepal, has added very largely to our knowledge of the Birds of the Himalayas, few of which escaped his zealous researches. His most valuable papers * In the 2nd volume will be given a somewhat more extended view of the geographic distribution of the Birds of India, accompanied with Tables, and this will be paged separately, su as to be bound up with either volume. i x)ii INTRODUCTION. have been published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society, Bengal Sporting Magazine, the Calcutta Journal of Na- tural History, the Madras Journal of Literature and Science, the India Review, and in several home periodicals. They are distinguished by deep research and great acumen, and are very full in details of structure. M’Clelland pub- lished an interesting paper on the Birds of Assam, in the Proc. Zool. Society, 1839, from which much information is gained on the habits and geographic distribution of the Birds of that Province. Burgess has given an account of the habits and nidification of many of the Birds of Western India (Proc. Zool. Soc., 1854-55) ; and Dr. Adams (Proc. Zool. Soc., 1859-60), has published two Lists, one of the Birds of Cashmere, and the other of the N. W. Provinces and Bombay, both containing some most instructive details on the habits of the birds mentioned, and from which I have made many extracts. Captain, now Lieutenant-Colonel, Tytler has given in the Annals of Nat. History two highly interesting articles on the Faune of Barrackpore and Dacca. Kelaart and Layard have written extensively on the Ornithology of Ceylon. Hutton has in various papers given some interest- ing notes on the habits of several birds and their nidifica- tion ; and Tickell (Journ. As. Soc., 1848.),and Theobald (J. A. S. 1854), have also contributed to our knowledge - of the Ornithology of India. The notes of the Revd. Mr. Phillips on the habits of some of the birds of the N. W. Provinces (P. Z. S. 1857), and Pearson’s notes on the Birds of Bengal (J. A. §.), also deserve notice. Numerous other observers have communicated their experiences to Mr. Blyth and myself. In 1839, and subsequent years, I published (Madras Journ. Literature and Science, 1839-44) a Cata- logue of the birds of Southern India, with two Supplements, INTRODUCTION. xiii in which, however, my latest discoveries were not recorded ; and I may be excused adding with some pride, that only one species has as yet been added to the Fauna of Southern India, not previously obtained by myself, and that bird a most rare straggler, Lobipes hyperboreas. Lastly, Mr. Blyth’s numerous and valuable papers, already mentioned in the Preface, and his efforts, by intercourse and correspondence, have contributed an impetus to the study of Natural History, that has done more to its extension in India, than all the previous pub- lications. His ‘Catalogue of Birds in the Museum Asiatic Society, Calcutta,’ and Horsfield’s ‘Catalogue of the Birds of the E. I. C. Museum in London,’ have been most valu- able aids to me, and are referred to under every species. Of Illustrated works on Indian Ornithology, the first published was a selection by Mr. Gray from the immense collection of drawings of General Hardwicke, The drawings are very inferior, and were not accompanied by any letter press. Mr. Gould, in 1832, brought out a “ Century of Birds from the Himalayan Mountains ;” and although the figures : are not equal to his subsequent drawings, they are yet very valuable. He is now publishinga magnificent work ‘The Birds of Asia,’ of which fourteen parts are completed. Francis Buchanan Hamilton had a large collection of drawings, made by native artists, of the Vertebrated Classes, with voluminous notes. The drawings, as well as the MSS. notes, are deposited in the Library of the Asia- tic Society of Calcutta; and copies of some of the drawings appear to have been made use of in Gray and Hardwicke’s Illustrations of Indian Zoology. The notes have been, in many instances, quoted by Horsfield in his ‘ Catalogue of Birds,’ from the copy inthe Library of the India House. A few coloured drawings, also by xliv INTRODUCTION. native artists, very much inferior, however, to those of Buchanan Hamilton, were collected by the late Sir A. Burnes, in Sindh, the Punjab, and Afghanistan. These are, also, in the Asiatic Society’s Library, and, however inferior as works of art, are valuable, as showing the distribution of many birds, and also for the addition of a few new species. In 1844, I published a selection of fifty coloured litho- graphs, chiefly of unfigured birds of Southern India (‘‘ Illustrations of Indian Ornithology”) ; and the excellence and faithfulness of the drawings (the originals of all of which were painted by natives, and half the number, also, lithographed and coloured at Madras) has been universally allowed. Very many friends who have watched the progress of this work with interest, have expressed their earnest wish that it could have been accompanied by some Illus- trative plates similar to those of the book alluded to. To have done this would have added so much to the cost of the work and, delayed its publication, that I was obliged to forego the advantages that might have accrued ; but I am in hopes that I may, hereafter, be enabled to publish a Supplementary volume of Illustrations, giving one figure of a bird of each sub-family, and details of the chief genera. A few details as to the plan I have followed in the fol- lowing pages are here given. I have avoided encumbering my work with numerous synonyms; but I have always quoted Blyth’s and Horsfield’s Catalogues, in both of which the reader will find the synonyms given at length ; and I have, invariably cited such names as have been bestowed by Indian Ornithologists. I have also quoted Sykes’ Catalogue, and my own, but none of the others, though I have fre- quently alluded to them in the descriptions. I have also given a reference to the best coloured figure extant; and, INTRODUCTION. xiv when more than one figure exists, in works devoted to Indian Zoology, I have quoted all. I have also bestowed an English name on all the Birds of India, and I trust that many of these will be found appropriate, as I have, in general, attempted to make them, both popular and scien- tifically correct. The native names given, though more copious than in any list previously published, are yet very imperfect ; and I shall feel greatly obliged to those who may kindly communicate to me additional names in any native language or dialect. I have used the now generally adopted Jonesian orthography for these words; but, for names of places or districts, I have retained the popular mode of spelling. A List of Authors quoted, and a copious Index will be found at the end of the 2nd volume. I have commenced with the Raptores, because that is the usual distribution in most English authors, and for no other reason. be CSE, PE TEE ie THE BIRDS OF INDIA. Orv. RAPTORES,—Birps or Prey. Syn. AccrpitrEs, Lin. Rapacks, RaPTaTORES of some. Bill strong, covered at the base with a cere or naked mem- brane, strongly hooked at the tip, nostrils open; legs strong and muscular; toes four, three in front and one-behind, on the same plane, more or less rough beneath, and with strong, generally well-curved, and sharp claws. The Rapacious birds agree with the Jnsessores in having all their toes upon one plane, but differ in their strong bill and strong feet, with curved claws, and from all but the Parrots in the cere at the base of the bill. They agree also with the Jnsessores in having only twelve cervical vertebra (except among the Vultures) and in not having more than twelve tail feathers, again except some of the Vultures. Their upper mandible is always longer than the lower one, hooked at the tip and pointed, and the edges are frequently furnished with a sharp tooth (sometimes two), and at other times with a blunt festoon or sinuation, well fitted for tearing their tough prey. They have large wings of ten primaries, often very long; the wing coverts are large, and their muscular power great, giving them a powerful flight, capable, in some, of great speed, in others, of long and sustained flight. The tail is often long, almost always broad, of twelve (or rarely fourteen) feathers. The tarsi are generally reticulated, in some furnished with large scales in front ; the anterior toes are sometimes connected at the base by membrane, sometimes entirely free, and their upper surface (acropodia) often scaled; many have the tarsi feathered, wholly or partially ; the talons are generally sharp, curved, and fitted alike for seizing their prey, and holding it while it is being devoured ; in some, however, (the Vultures) they are blunt. In the Osprey, and some Owls, the outer toe is somewhat reversible. Their organs of vision A 2 BIRDS OF INDIA. are large, and their sight very acute. In most the eyes are situated laterally ; in the owls alone they are directed forwards. In those that hunt by night a very delicate sense of hearing is added. They vary greatly m size, most of them being of large or moderate size, some are very large, and others small. They are analogous to the Fere among the Mammalia. Some have a fierce and daring disposition, and great streneth, suited equally for rapid pursuit or powerful action, and live chiefly on the flesh of living animals which they catch; others, from their nature, incapable of like exertions or activity, content themselves with such animals as they find dead. The female is in almost all cases the larger bird than the male, and the task of supporting the young (which are born callow and blind) falls chiefly on her. All Raptores are, I believe, monogamous, and the pairs live together for their whole lives. ‘They are far from being prolific, few rearing in one brood more than four, many only one and two young ones. They are not very nu- merous in species. Some of the most typical groups are spread all over the world, but there are many peculiar to warmer regions, where there is a greater abundance of animal life, and especially a ereat increase in the number of reptiles and insects; and those also that are fitted for devouring carcases, which putrefy so soon in warm climates, are only developed in those countries, and here multiply numerically to a larger extent than any of the others. The young of Raptores do not in general change their nestling plumage till the usual moulting season of the second year. In some, it is said, a partial change of colour takes place in the fea- thers themselves previous to the first moult. The skull in Raptores is short, broad, and high; the frontal portion flat, convex posteriorly. A longitudinal furrow extends along the whole upper surface of the cranium, and the cranium and face are separated by a sudden contraction. The bony orbits are very complete. The ramus of the lower jaw is formed by an entire bony plate. The number of cervical vertebra vary from 11 to 14, of dorsal from 7 to 8, sacral 10 to 11, and eaudal 7 to 8. The sternum is large, completely ossified—in most - VULTURID&. 3 elongated and convex; the manubrial process and the keel well developed. The tongue is of moderate size or small, broad, thick, and slightly divided at the tip. In some of the larger kinds the ‘cesophacus is dilated in the lower parts of the neck, forming the crop. ‘The stomach is more or less simply a membranous cavity, with the muscular coat thin. The intestinal canal is short, rarely more than twice the length of the body. The cceca are small and short, except in the owls, and are said to be deficient in many. The gall bladder is always present. The air receptacles are large in most. The trachea is of uniform thickness, and cylindrical in some ; in others it decreases in size downwards, and is somewhat conical. The Raptores are divided by most authors into—Ist, Vulturide ; 2nd, Falconide; and 3rd, Strigide. Some ornithologists make the genus Gypogeranus into a distinct family. The Polyborine (Cara- caras, or Hawk Vultures), generally put as a sub-family of the Falconide, are, 1 think, entitled to the rank of a distinct family, as well from their structure as their habits. Gray, in his last list of genera (1855) gives Ist, Fam. Gypaetide ; 2nd, Vulturide ; 3rd, Falconide ; 4th, Serpentaride ; 5th, Strigide ; and Kaup has the same families. I shall divide the Raptores into the following families :—Ist, Vulturide (True Vultures); 2nd, Polyboride (Hawk Vultures); 3rd, Serpentaride (Snake Vultures); 4th, Malconide (Hawks and Kacles); and 5th, Sérigide (Owls). The 2nd and 3rd families are, however, not represented in India. Fam. VULTURID2, Vultures. Bill rather long, compressed, straight at the culmen, curved towards the tip, upper mandible never toothed, sometimes sinuate ; cere very large, tarsus reticulated with small scales, somewhat short, stout, usually feathered at the knee; sometimes shehtly elevated; middle toe long, outer toe joined to the middle one by a membrane, hind toe short, claws rather blunt, strong, not much curved. ~ The Vultures, so familiar to all residents of tropical regions, are birds of very large size, thick, heavy, and ungraceful form; the 4 BIRDS OF INDIA. head and part of the neck often bare, or only clad with a few hairs or down. The crop, too, is prominent, and is either naked or covered with woolly hairs. The eye is small, on a level with the head, and not protected by the bony ridge which gives their keen look to the Eagles and Falcons ; the wings are very long, and more or less pointed, and the tail short. The sternum has the keel moderate, smaller than in the Falconide, and is reduced anteriorly. It varies in form in the different sub-families. The furcula is stout and wide, but flat. The cervical vertebre are more than twelve in number, which is the normal number in all other Raptores, and in all the Jnsessores. Their habits, when not satisfying the cravings of their appetite, are sluggish and indolent, their attitude slouching, and they are cowardly and timid, but not shy of man. Their dis- gusting though useful habits render them an object of loathing, which their general appearance and foul smell are alone sufficient to create. But their great, apparently indispensable, usefulness in tropical countries, should divest them of some of these attributes in the mind of the thinking traveller; and their picturesque aspect when high aloft in the air, wheeling in great circles, and also perched on some magnificent mural precipice, add not a little to the characteris- tic scenery of tropical countries. As is well known, they devour the carcases of dead animals and other offensive matter, which would otherwise in the hot regions of the world tend to increase the predisposition to disease. They discover their proper food almost entirely by sight, which is indeed most wonderfully keen. I have known a small piece of fresh meat, a fore-quarter of a miserable sheep, exposed in the open, bare plain, where the eye barely discover- ed a few floating specks in the air high above, and in less than half an hour there would be a number of vultures feeding on it. It is out of the question that smell can have any thing to do with this, and we know from many familiar experiments that vultures will discover and descend on a stuffed carcase of an animal, whilst they will neglect one well hidden, though putrid and offensive. But I do not mean to assert that their sense of sight is illimitable, and im the cases in which I have myself experimented, I do not mean to imply that the very distant birds, that looked like specks, VULTURINZE. 5 were those to discover the piece of fresh meat; but ever and anon a bird at a much lower elevation, but still very high above the earth, would sail past, keenly urged by hunger to a closer investigation, and on his espying the morsel, and moving towards it, others at a - greater distance, guided by his motions, would descend lower, and on being certified themselves by seeing their neighbours perhaps on the ground near, would drop down ina series of oblique plunges till they reached the ground also. That vultures, however, have also a strong sense of smell is undeniable ; many experiments are record- ed to show this; and I have myself frequently seen vultures flying closely, and apparently in an excited and unusual manner, over a copse or thicket in which a putrefying carcase was placed; but this is discovered only when the bird happens to pass over the spot at no great height; and I have known concealed carcases escape the ken of the vultures altogether. Vultures are divided by Gray, in his List of Genera (1855) into the sub-families Vulturine, Sarcoramphine, and Gypohieracine, the Gypaetine being placed as a distinct family of Raptores. Others include the Lammergeyer among the vultures, as- Gray did in his Illustrated Genera of Birds; and some also place the Secre- tary Bird of Africa as a sub-family of the vultures, which is now generally put into a distinct family. I shall here divide the Indian Vultures into Vulturine, or True Vultures; Neophronine, or Scavenger Vultures; and Gypaetine, or Lammergeyers; leaving the Sarcoramphine, or American Vultures, and the Gypohieracine, or Angola Vultures. Sub-Fam. VULTURINZ,—True Vultures. Bill large, thick, strong, higher than broad, hooked only at the tip; cere large, nostrils naked, transverse; head and upper part of neck naked, or covered only with down; wings long, Ist quill short, 3rd and 4th quills sub-equal, 4th longest; tail moderate or rather short, with twelve or fourteen tail feathers; tarsus reticu- lated, with some large scuta near the claws. The true vultures are birds of very large size, and are most com- mon in the warm regions of Africa and Asia, some of them extend- ing to the hill regions of temperate Asia and Europe. Their 6 BIRDS OCF INDIA. spread of wing is great, and they soar to vast heights in great circles, often barely moving their wings for minutes together, and then only for one gentle flap. When flying near the ground they flap their wings more frequently, but always alternate this with a sailing motion, with outspread and somewhat upturned wing, the first four or five quills showing distinct, well separated from each other. They breed both on high rocky cliffs, and some few on trees, laying one or two eggs only. When they have young they fill their capacious craws, and carry the contents to the nest, and there disgorge it for them. The sternum is wide and rounded posteriorly, with two foramina, and they have 15 cervical vertebra. Blyth divides them into Vulturine and Gypine. Gen. VuLTuR, Lin., in part. Syn. Lgypius, Sav.—Polypteryx, Hodgs. Tail with twelve feathers. Bull rather short, strong, deep, curv- ing from the end of cere ; nostrils, round or oval; tarsus feathered from more than half of its length; claws strong, rather acute. The neck ruff advances upwards towards’ the hinder part of the head, and there is a transverse occipital crest of down; otherwise as in the characters of the sub-family. 1. Vultur monachus, Liv. BuytTH, Cat. 131—Horsr., Cat. 1—V. cinereus, GMEL.—Y. arrianus, TEM.—/Eg¢ypius niger, Sav.—PI. enl. 425—Gou.p, Birds of Europe, pl. 2—Gray and Harpw., Ill. Ind. Zool. I., pl. 15, f. 2—P. cupido, Hop¢son—‘ Great Black Vulture’ of the Himalayas. GREAT BROWN VULTURE. Descr.—Of a rich dark chocolate brown color throughout, blacker on the wings, tail, and under parts; the feathers of the nape leneth- ened, and somewhat lanceolate, forming a dense ruff ; lores, cheeks, and throat covered with dark brown hair-like feathers; top of the head covered with soft downy feathers, ending in a sort of occipital ruff of a light brown colour; hind neck below the ears nude. In a younger bird the head is more denuded, and the clothing feathers VULTURINA. 7 of the back are of a loose texture, lengthened and lanceolate; and the feathers are edged and tipped lighter. Bill with the cere red mixed with ashy, dusky black at the tip; the naked part of neck also ashy red, irides brown, lees dusky yellow. Length 44 to 48 inches; wing 33; tail 14; bill straight to gape 4; height not quite 2; tarsus 44; mid toe and claw 5. This fine Vulture is found, though rarely in the Himalayas, occa- sionally descending to the plams. I saw it at Saugor in Central India, and also at Mhow. It is found in the lofty hill ranges of Southern Europe and N. Africa. V. ocetpitalis, Burchell (galericulatus, Tem., Pl. col.13—Rupp. Atl., pl. 22), from Africa, is another species of True Vulture. Gen. Oroeyps, Gray. Head and neck bare, sides of neck with a wattle of skin; bill very thick and strong; crown of the head flat; cranium very large, otherwise asin Vultur. Bonaparte does not separate this sub-genus from the last. 2. Otogyps calvus, Scop. Vultur, apud Scorpoti—Biytu, Cat. 132—Horsr., Cat. 2— Vultur Ponticerianus, Daup.—TemM., Pl. col. 2—SykgEs, Cat. 2— JERDON, Cat. 3—GRay and Harpw., Ill. Ind. Zool. I., pl. 15, f. 2— Rang-gidh, H. also Mulla gidh of some—Bhaonra H. of Shikarees —Lal-mata Shakuni, Beng.—Raj Sogon, or Rajgidh at Bhagulpore —WNella borawa, Tel.—Rannapanta of the Yerklees. Buack VULTURE. Descr.—Adult, dark brown black throughout, brownish on the scapulars and some of the secondaries ; neck in front with some short brown feathers partially covering the crop, and between this and the dark feathers of the lower parts a zone of white downy feathers, which shows conspicuously ; head with a few scattered hair-like feathers about the ears and cheeks. ’ Cere, naked head, and neck, deep yellowish red, often more or less black spotted; legs dull red. Ivides red brown, yellow m 8 BIRDS OF INDIA. some individuals; length 32 to 36 inches; wing 24; tail 10; bill straight to gape 3; height 14; tarse 4; mid toe 44. The young bird is dull brown throughout. The Black Vulture is found commonly throughout India, extend- ing into Burmah, but is by no means abundant in individuals. It is usually seen solitary, or in pairs, occasionally four or five together, hunting over some rocky hill. Itis dreaded by the other common vultures, Gyps Indicus and G. Bengalensis, who always give way to one of these black vultures, as recorded by Buchanan, Hamilton, and Blyth, and as I have frequently witnessed; hence its Indian name of King Vulture. It is said usually to breed on inaccessible cliffs, but Lieutenant Burgess found its nest on two or three occasions on trees, with a single white egg. Vultur imperialis, Temminck, Pl. col. 2, may be intended for the young of this bird, and not for V. monachus, as TI once imagined. Bonaparte assigns it as the young of V. nubicus, which is a synonym of O. auricularis (Le Vaill., Ois. d’Afr., pl. 9), a nearly allied species from Africa, but as V. imperialis was distinctly said to be Indian, it is most probably the young of our present bird. Gen. Gyrps, Sav. Tail with twelve or fourteen feathers, bill more lengthened than in Vultur, culmen more gradually curving, much rounded and compressed beyond the cere, nostrils oblong, oblique, or transverse ; head and neck clothed with soft down; the bottom of the neck with aruff of lengthened feathers. 3. Gyps fulvus, Goer. : Vultur, apud GMELIN—GOoULD, Birds of Europe, pl. 1—Buytu, Cat. 133—Horsr., Cat. 4—V. Kolbi, Daun. LARGE TAWNY VULTURE. Descr.—Light tawny brown above and beneath, lightest on the rump and thigh coverts; greater coverts, scapulars, quills and tail, dark brown; head with some hair-like feathers; neck above with whitish downy feathers, scanty on the lower neck; the crop covered with brown short downy feathers, the ruff of lengthened reddish brown feathers. VULTURINZ. 9 Bill greenish horn, dusky at the base; legs dirty yellow. Irid brown; length 4 feet; wing 33 inch; tail 15. Bill straight to gape, 34; height 13; tarse 4}; mid toe 955. The clothing feathers are more or less lanceolate at all ages; there are fourteen tail feathers; the nostrils are nearly exactly transverse, and narrow; the tarsi are feathered in front for nearly “half their leneth, and there are three or four scuta at the extremity of the outer toe. This fine Vulture is nearly confined to the Himalayan ranges in India. In Europe it frequents the mountains of the Alps and Pyrenees, extending into Northern Africa and Western Asia. It breeds on rocky cliits, laying only one egg, which is said to be sometimes white, with a few reddish spots; at other times richly marked with red. Salvin says itis a cleanly, docile, and good- tempered bird. 4. Gyps Indicus, Scop. Vultur, apud ScopoLi—TEmMInck, Pl. col. 26—Syxss, Cat. 1—Brytu, Cat. 134—Horsr., Cat. 6—JERDON, Cat. and Suppl. Cat. 1—Gray’s Ill. Gen. of Birds, pl. 8—V. tenuiceps and V. tenuirostris, Hopes.—Sdgtin, Sdkiin, Sogen and Changoun, Beng. —Muha dho, Mahr., Burra gidh or Phari gidh, H. Lone-BILLED Brown VULTURE. Descr.—Pale cinereous brown, albescent on the back and rump; the ereater coverts and scapulars darker, quills and tail blackish brown; beneath pale tawny, brown on the sides of the breast and flanks; axillaries much lenethened, whity brown; feathers of the ruff whitish, rather short; thighs internally white and downy; head and neck nearly bare; crop covered, with short close dark chocolate brown feathers. Bull and cere bluish horny, dusky at the tip ; legs and feet dusky cinerous; irides brown. Leneth 43 inches; wing, 26 to 29; tail 12; ext. 8 feet; tarsus 41; mid toe and claw 42; bill at gape 3; height 13. Adams gives it as occasionally 4 feet long, and nearly 9 feet in expanse, and 19Ibs. m weight. Surely this must have been an individual of Gyps fulvus. B 10 BIRDS OF INDIA. The young bird is paler, both above and below; the head and neck are covered with whitish down, and the feathers of the ruff are longer, lanceolate, and edged with dark brown. The nostrils are somewhat oblique, oblong; and the bill is much elongated and slender, and the ceral portion especially is long. There are six or seven scales on the outer toe; the hind claw is more curved and larger than in fulvus; the tail is of fourteen feathers. Bonaparte erroneously gives this species as identical with G. Bengalensis. This Vulture is found over all India, more rarely towards the south, and then chiefly near mountains. It is very abundant in Burmah. It does not in general enter towns and villages like the next species. It is not rare on the Neilgherries, and breeds on some of the cliffs on their northern face, also on the cliffs bound- “ing the valley in which are situated the celebrated caves of Ajunta. 5. Gyps Bengalensis, Gmet. Vultur, apud GmeLtin—Sykes, Cat. 3—Jerpon, Cat. 2— BLYTH, Cat. 135—Horsr., Cat. 7—Gray and Harpwick, II. Ind. Zool. I., pl. 15, (young)—V. changoun, Daup—V. leuconotus, Gray and Harpw., Ill. Ind. Zool. I., pl. 14, (adult)—Gida. H. and Mahr.—Sagun, Beng.— Wallhorya of the Yerklees—Guligadu, z. e., corpse fellow, Tel.; sometimes also Matu pudum gudu, 1. e., cattle-eater, Tel—Karru, Tam. Common Brown VULTURE or WHITE-BACKED VULTURE. Descr.—Adult. Above cinereous black, back and rump white; beneath dark brown, the feathers centred lighter; the short feathers of the crop deep brown; ruff whitish, the feathers short and downy ; head and neck nearly bare, with a few scattered hair-like feathers. ' The young is lightish brown above, the feathers centred paler; quills, tail, and scapulars blackish brown; beneath light brown, the feathers broadly centred with whitish; feathers of the ruff pale, edged darker, long and lanceolate; head and neck more or less clad with whitish down. Bill, horny, dusky on cere; legs dusky black; irides red brown. NEOPHRONINZE. Mal Length 34 to 36 inches; ext. 7 ft.; wing 23; tail 10; tarsus 33; mid-toe 43; bill (gape) 24; height 14. Bill shorter and stouter than in the two last, and nostrils more oblique ; outer toe with six large scuta. Tail with only 12 feathers, This is the most common .Vulture of India, and is found in immense numbers all over the country, extending into Assam and Burmah, (and said to be also found in Africa,) congregating where- ever any dead animal is exposed. At Calcutta onemay frequently be seen seated on the bloated corpse of some Hindoo floating up or down with the tide, its wings spread, to assist in steadying it, and as soon as it has finished its repast, giving place to another. I have seen.one washed off in mid-stream, and flap its way to shore. It walks and even runs with facility, though awkwardly. It breeds by preference on rocky cliffs, but also not unfrequently on large trees, laying usually one dirty white egg. Capt. Hutton, J.A.S., VI, gives an interesting account of a young one he reared from the nest. Other species of Gyps are recorded from the south of Europe and Africa, viz., G. occidentalis from the Pyrennees, and G. Muppellit from Africa. Sub-Fam. NeoPHRONINEZ—Scavengers. Syn. Sarcoramphine (pars), and Cathartine (pars), Auct. Neoph- rine, Cassin. Bill lengthened, slender, straight, hooked suddenly at the tip; cere very long, occupying nearly two-thirds of the whole bill; nostrils longitudinal, nearly in the middle of the bill; part of head and the face naked; neck with acuminated feathers; wings ample, pointed, the third quill longest ; tail moderate, wedge-shaped ; of twelve or fourteen feathers; legs moderate, toes much united at base by membrane. The genus Neophron is usually placed among the Sarcoram- phine, an American group. It differs a good deal, however, in many of its characters from these birds, and Bonaparte, I see, includes it among his Vultwrinew, guided no doubt partly by geographical distribution. Its characters and habits are so very distinct, that I have ventured to form it into a distinct sub-family.* * Since writing the above, I see this has been already done by Cassin. 13 BIRDS OF INDIA. The sternum has the two foramina open posteriorly, and there 6 are 14 cervical vertebre. Gen. NEOPHRON, Sav. Syn. Percnopterus, Cuy. Char.—Same as those of the sub-family. 6. Neophron percnopterus, Liv. Vultur, apud Linnmus—SYKEs, Cat. 4—JERpoN, Cat. 4— Buytu, Cat. 137—Horsr., Cat. 8—V. Ginginianus, Daup.—V. stercorarius, LAPEYROUSE—Peren. Au gyptiacus, SteEPH.— PI. enl. 427, 429—GouLD, Birds of Europe, pl. 3—Kal murgh, H. of Meer Shikarees— Tella boruwa, Tel.—Manju-Tiridi, Tam., 7. e., Turmeric- stealer, vulgo Pittri gedda, Tam., 1. e., Dung Kite—Sindho of Wag- rees—Svongra or Soonda in Sindh—Pharoah’s Chicken in Egypt. WHITE SCAVENGER VULTURE. Descr.—Adult, of a yellowish or creamy white, quills black, fea- thers of the neck long and lanceolate, cere and face deep tur- meric yellow, tip of bill horny yellow; irides dark brown; legs dirty yellow. Length—26 to 29 inches; wing 19; tail 9 to 10, of fourteen feathers; tarsus 3; mid toe 3; bill at gape 23. The young has the plumage dirty brown, with the quills blackish brown, the back and rump albescent or tawny, the outer edge of the secondaries and of some of the primaries cinereous, the nude parts of the head and the cere greyish;, feet cinereous. In a further stage the birds are mottled brown and white. This well-known bird is abundant throughout the greater part of India, being more rare in Central and Northern India and unknown in Lower Bengal. As is well known in India, its chief food is human ordure, and some of its popular names signify this. It also partakes of carrion, but its feeble bill is less qualified for this kind of food. It walks with ease, stalking about with a peculiar gait, lifting its lees very high; and it also runs with facility. It breeds on rocky cliffs, also on large buildings, pagodas, mosques, tombs, &c., and occasionally on trees. It forms a large GYPAETINA. 13 nest of sticks and rubbish, often lined with old rags, and lays generally two eggs, sometimes white, with a few rusty brown ‘spots, at other times so richly covered with them as to appear quite red, with a few liver-brown blotches. This Vulture is preserved in Egypt, where it goes by the name of Pharoah’s Chicken. It is common throughout the North of Africa, Western Asia, and even the South of Europe, a strageler finding its way to England now and then. : A second species of Neophron exists in the Cathartes monachus, Tem., Pl. col. 222 (the Vultur pileatus of Burchell and WN. Carunculatus of A. Smith, from Africa). Sub-fam. GyPaETIN®, Bon. and Gray. Bill strong, lengthened, compressed, straight ; uppet mandible ascending in front of the cere, then curved, with the tip much hooked; nostrils oval, vertical, covered with dense rigid recumbent bristles; lower mandible with a beard, or tuft of rigid setaceous bristles directed forwards ; head closely feathered; wings very long, the first quill rather shorter than second, the third longest; feet short, stout; the tarsus hirsute to the toes; the thigh coverts lengthened, the three front toes slightly united by membrane, mid- dle toe very long, hind toe short, claws strong, moderately curved ; tail cuneate, long. . The Bearded Vulture forms a natural link between the Vultures and the Hagles both in its structure and habits, but is apparently more vulturine in its structure. The eye is on a level with the head, the craw projects when full, and it has 13 cervical vertebre. The sternum is short and very broad. Gen. GYPAETUS (Storr). Syn. Phene, Sav. Char.—Same as those of the sub-family. 7. Gypaetus barbatus, Liv. Vultur, apnd Linnmus—Buryrn, Cat. 138—Horsr., Cat. 10— G. Grandis, Srorr—G. hemachalanus, Hurroy, J. A. S. II. 523; IV.455; VII. 20—Phene ossifraga, Sav.—Gray, Gen. of Birds, 14 BIRDS OF INIDA. pl. L—Gouxp’s Birds of Europe, pl. 4.—Argul H. at Mussooree. ‘Golden Eagle’ of residents at Simla. THE BEARDED VULTURE. Descr.—Head whitish, with dark streaks, and a black cheek stripe, and black supercilium; nape and neck above creamy white ; lower back of neck, back, rump, and lesser wing, black; the back and rump paler, with white shafts, and the coverts with white streaks, ferruginous in the young; greater coverts, wings, and tail, ashy black, with darker edges, and white shafts to the fea- thers; beneath dull orange, or ferruginous, with a more or less marked black gorget or pectoral collar, which, however, is not al- ways present; the ferruginous hue paling posteriorly below the breast, and becoming albescent on the lower belly and under tail coverts. The immature bird has the head, neck, and plumage generally dark brown, varied with buff. Bill horny, irides white, with the sclerotic membrane red, eyelids livid blue, toes bluish plumbeous, claws black. Length of a male 46 inches, ext. 9 feet. 12 Tbs. in weight (Adams). Pallas says up to 20tbs. A female measures above 4 feet sometimes, and the expanse of wing 9} feet. Of one 4 feet long, the wing is 84 mches. Tail 19; bill 33; tarsus 45; mid toe 4. This fine bird is found in the Himalayas from Nepal to Cash- mere, and also on the Salt and Suliman ranges of the Punjab. I did not observe it at Darjeeling. It extends from the skirts of the hills to the Snowy Range, and is not uncommon at Simla, Mussooree, and other stations in the N. W. Himalayas. Hutton as- serts that it usually feeds on carrion, and rarely carries off any thing larger than a fowl, which it devours as it flies. Hodgson asserts the same, and says that it is fearless of man when bent on securing some offal or flesh. Other observers state that it is wary. Dr. Adams states that it preys much on marmots. A bird of this species is noticed by Bishop Heber, who says (on hearsay, however, I believe), that it was thirteen feet in expanse of wings, and was. said to have carried children off from the streets of Almora. In 3 oars : 5 te. 2 ‘ i FALCONINA. 29 al finement vary somewhat in the shades of their plumage from those subject to the more vigorous actions of a wild state of life. 2nd. (Lanners—Gennaia, Kaup.) They differ from the last by their somewhat lengthened tail, shorter toes, and narrower cheek stripe. ‘The two first quills are emarginated. They are of large size, and some of them at all events breed on trees. 10. Falco Sacer, Scuiucz. F. lanarius, Gray, Cat. B. M.—Horsr., Cat. 22—Pallas Z. R. A.—F. Cherrug, Gray, Harpw., Ill. Ind. Zool. pl. 25—Gouxp, Birds of Europe, pl. 20—F. milvipes, Hopes.—Gray’s Zool. Mise.—Chargh. H. (female); Charghela (the male)—Saker or El Sakkr (in N. Africa). The SAKER or CHERRUG FALCON. Descr.—Young bird with the top of the head yellowish white, brown streaked; upper parts brown, with slight pale edging to some of the feathers. Beneath white, with large oval brown spots; legs and feet pale bluish; bill and cere bluish blackish at tip. The adult has the upper parts rather pale slaty brown, almost slaty im old birds; cheek stripe indistinct; top of the head reddish ash color with fine black streaks; chin white; breast and lower parts white, with oblong, slaty spots; cere greenish white; feet lemon yellow. Length of a male 18 inch; wing 12}; tail 74. Of a female 20 to 21; wing 14; tail 8. The researches of naturalists of late have made known that the Saker and Lanner of the old writers on Falconry are in reality two distinct species, foundin the East and South of Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa, I have followed Bonaparte in assigning F. Sacer to the Falcon found, though rarely, in the Himalayan range. Hodgson sent it from Nepal, and according to the testimony of native Falconers, it used to be brought for sale frequently in the good old times, and was useg for striking antelopes, hares, &ce. It is stated that the Lanner is now used in North Africa 30 BIRDS OF INDIA. : to strike gazelle and the Houbara bustard, which it is taught to strike on the ground when running.* Both species much resemble the Laggar in general mode of coloration, but the Lanner is said o resemble it most closely. The Saker is said to breed in trees, and the egg of one obtained in Africa is figured in the first vol. of the Ibis. 11. Falco Jugger, Gray. F. lugeur, Jerp., Cat. 28—Ill. Ind. Orn., pl. 44 (young female)—Harpw., Ill. Ind. Zool., 2, pl. 26 (adult male)—GouLp, Birds of Asia, pl. 1 —F. themophilus, Hopes., Zool. Misc., 1844 Laggar or Lhagar, He (the female); Jhagar or Jaggar (the male )—Lagadu, Tel. . Tuer Laacar FALcon. Descr.—Young bird brown above, with the head yellowish fawn color, with some dark brown streaks; chin and throat white, the rest of the body beneath brown; under tail coverts dirty fawn color, with some faint brown bars; cere and legs bluish. The licht color of the head is not present in all birds, and appears to be most general in males. Adult.—Plumaue above dusky ashy or slate color; head (in some) rufous, with faint brown streaks; tail pale dusky cinereous, with pale rufous bars on the inner webs, and a pale tip; plumage be- neath, from chin to lower abdomen, white; lower abdomen and thigh coverts reddish brown; under wing coverts chiefly brown, a little mixed with white. In the bird of the second year the breast and upper part of abdomen becomes white with brown drops, and at each successive moult more of the brown beneath disappears, the back becomes more cinereous, and the head more rufous. Cere and lees yellow. Length of a female 194 inches; wing 154; tail 8; tars. 2; weight Ilb. 40z. A male measures 16 to 17 inches. * Since the above was printed I have learned from Major Pearse, late Command- ing srd Sikh Cavalry, that the Chargh is still brought from Hazara, aud the Suleiman Mts. and is used t6 strike the Indian Houbara, Otis Me Queenii, but always on the wing, and also hares, FALCONINA. 3k The Laggar is the most common and generally distributed of the large Falcons of India, being found over the whole continent, from Cape Comorin to the Himalayas, and from Calcutta to Scinde and the Punjab. It is rare in the forest countries of the Malabar coast, and most abundant in open cultivated districts. From my I[llastrations of Indian Ornithology, I extract the following notice of the habits of this Falcon. Whilst the Bhyri prefers the sea-coast and the neighbourhood of lakes, rivers, and wet cultivation, and the Shahin delights in hilly and wooded recions; the Laggar, on the contrary, frequents open, dry plains, and vicinity of cultivation. It makes its nest in some lofty tree, generally one standing alone, among some grain fields, and lays four egos, white, more or less blotched with red and brown. In a wild state it preys on a great variety of small birds, often snatching up a chicken, even in the midst of a Cantonment. It is trained to hunt crows, paddy birds, night herons, partridges, and florikin ; and, itis said, has been trained to kill the heron (A. cinerea). _In hawking crows, C. splendens chiefly, it is slipped from the hand; and the crow, when aware of its danger, uses every artifice to escape, taking refuge among cattle, horses, vehicles, and even entering houses. I once had a Lagear, whose wing feathers were burnt off by a washerman’s fire, close to which the crow was attempting to take refuge when it was struck. After paddy birds (Ardea bubulceus) it is also slipped from the hand, and, as this bird is always found on the plains feeding among herds of eattle, it affords considerable sport by its dexterity in diving among and under the cattle, and the venturous Hawk is occasionally trodden under their feet. When the quarry is a partridge or a florikin, the standing g@aitis used, as described under the head of Shahin. Lag- gars, as well as Shahins, are always cauglit after they have left the nest, and have had some instruction by their parents, our native Falconers considering them better than when taken from the nest, contrary, I believe, to the opinion of our English Adam Woodcocks. A very nearly allied species is found in Africa, F. tanypterus, Licht., which has been considered by some to be the same, but is now generally allowed to be distinct. 32 BIRDS OCF INDIA. 12. Faleo babylonicus, Gurney. ScLaTER and Irpy, Ibis, vol. 3, p. 218,—F. peregrinator, ; apud Horsr., Cat. 20 in part. z RED-HEADED LANNER. Deser.— Nearly similar to F. barbarus, but generally lighter, and rather more rufous on the front of the head: the size, however, in nearly one-third greater, being the same as that of F. lanarius of Schlegel. From the latter bird it may be distinguished, 1.—By the absence of the whitish frontal band, the rufous of the vertex extending forwards on to the cere, and being bordered behind by abroad band of dark slaty brown, which divides it from the rufous of the nape. 2.—By the feathers on the back of the neck below the nape being bordered with rufous of the same tinge as on the nape. This edging is sometimes present in F. barbarus, but never to the same extentin F. lanarius. 3.—By the comparative absence of spots on the upper portion of the lower surface, in which character it nearly agrees with the Abyssinian form of F. lanarius, which I take to be strictly Lichtenstein’s fF. tanypterus. The middle claw of F. babylonicus is longer than that of F. lanarius, in which respect it also approaches to the structure of FF. barbarus. Judging from the partial remains of the immature plumage in one specimen, it would appear that in this stage the bird most,nearly resembles F. peregrinus, in which particular it also agrees with F. barbarus. 7 to 18 inches; wing, 124 to 13; tail, 63 to 7; tars., nearly 2; mid toe 2.’ Length, 1 A specimen of this newly-described Falcon was obtained by Captain Irby in 1858 in Oude. It appears that one of the spe- cimens named F. peregrinator, in the Mus. E. I. C. H., brought from Babylon by Commodore Jones, belongs to this species, and others exist in the Norwich Museum, one said to be from Africa. Mr. Sclater remarks that ‘it does not belong to the group of true Peregrines, but rather to that containing F. lanarius, Schlegel, F’ tanypterus, Licht., F. biarmicus, Tem., and F. barbarus, Salvin.,’ a i. e., our Lanners. cl FALCONINE. 33 The Falcons comprising the genus Jeracidea of Gould are pecu- liar to Australia. ‘They are of rather large size; have the bill of the true Falcons; the wings are rather short, with the 2nd and 3rd quills about equal and emarginate; the tarsus somewhat lengthen- ed, with large irregular scales; the toes short, with the laterals neatly equal. Two species are figured by Gould, in his Birds of Australia, and they correspond so closely to the colors of the Laggar in its young and adult state, that I strongly suspect they are only different ages of one bird. The division of Falcons comprising the Jerfalcons, viz., the Ice- land and Greenland Falcons, so beautifully figured by Wolf, Hiero- falco, Kaup., are not represented in India, though apparently one of them is, or used to be, occasionally brought to India, and sold for hawking. It is the Shankar or Shangar of Indian Falconers; a word taken from the Baschkir Tartar name of the Jerfalcon, ac- cording to Pallas. They are Falcons of very large size, with a strong tooth, (which becomes rounded in old birds,) and rather short wings, and the bill much lengthened. F, subniger, Gray, and F. hypoleucus Gould, from Australia, are the only other species placed among these Jerfalcons. Gen. Hyporriorcuis, Boie. Syn. Dendrofaleo, Gray.—disalon, Kaup., partly. Char.—Of small size. Bill and legs weaker than in true Falco ; wings long or moderate ; tarsus slightly lencthened ; toes unequal, claws not very unequal; tarsal scales larger in front than in Falco, somewhat hexagonal. This subgenus includes two divisions, the first or Hobbies having dark plumage and long wings, with only the first quill emarginate ; the second, with lighter plumage, and shorter wings (the Merlins) and the two first quills emarginate. These last have been separated under the sub-generic name salon. HOBBIES. 13. Hypotriorchis Subbuteo, L. Falco, apud Lin.—Jerpon, Suppl. Cat. 29 bis—Buyra, Cat. 68—Horsr., Cat. 26—P. E. 432—Gouxp, Birds of Europe, pl. 22—Doureli T., of some, Réyi according to others, E 34 BIRDS OF INDIA. THe Hopepy. Descr.—Young bird, dark brown above, the feathers edged with ferruginous; cheek stripe darker; beneath whitish, with a rusty tinge, and all the feathers with broad blackish brown spots or streaks; the lower abdomen, thigh coverts, and under tail coverts ferruginous, with a few brown streaks. Adult, blackish slaty above, rusty white beneath; throat and neck unspotted; breast and abdomen with dark brown sireaks, narrow on the centre of the abdomen, wider on the flanks; thigh coverts and under tail coverts pure ferruginous; tail dark slaty, with dark bands; frontal line and narrow stripe over the eye pale rusty whitish ; cheek stripe black, distinctly separated from the dark cheeks and ear coverts; quills barred internally with light rufous; cere and legs greenish yellow. Length of a female 124 inches; wing 103; tail 5}: the wing nearly reaches to the end of the tail. A male measured 102 inches; wing 93; tail 53. The Hobby is a winter visitant to India, and is not very com- mon, though occasionally killed in different parts of the country. I have killed it near Jalna, and it has been taken at Calcutta and in various parts of the Himalayas. Its prey is small birds, larks, &c, and also not unfrequently insects. The one I shot near Jalna had.its stomach crammed with dragon flies, which I had seen it hawking over a tank just after sunset. It is stated occasionally to be seen in flocks, and to fly about at dusk. It does not breed in this country. In Europe it builds on trees, occasionally taking posses- sion of an old crow’s nest. It used to be trained to hawk quails and _ larks in Europe. I believe it to be the Regi of Indian Falconers. 14. Hypotriorchis severus, Horsr. Falco, apud Horsr., L. T. XIII.—Falco Aldrovandi, Trmm., P. C., 128—F. rufipedoides, Hopes. C. J. N. H., 1V. 284—Buyru, Cat. No. 67—Horsr., Cat. 24—Dhuti, H. (the female); Dhuter (the male). Tue Inp1an Hopspy. Descr.—Young bird, dusky blackish, with a grey tinge; lores, cheeks, and car coverts nearly black, confluent with the cheek stripe; 9 4] nH “a r FALCONINE. 35 centre tail feathers barred black, the others with eight or nine ru- fous bars on their inner webs; throat and neck fulvous white; the rest beneath deep ferruginous, palest on the breast, with medial brown spots on the feathers. Adult, dark slaty blue above, black on the cheeks and ears; be- neath deep rusty red, unspotted; cere, orbitar, skin, and legs reddish yellow ; bill plumbeous. Tail short, nearly square; wings very long, exceeding the tail ; feet large. Length of a male 103 inches; wing 9; tail 44. This little Falcon is chiefly an inhabitant of the Himalayas, a few only visiting the plains during the cold weather, and not ex- tending their migrations far South. I have never met with it in the South of India, but procured it at Darjeeling. It appears to be spread over the Eastern parts of Southern Asia, having been procured in Java, the Philippines, and the Malayan Peninsula. Mr. Blyth has obtained several specimens from the vicinity of Cal- cutta. It is said to breed on trees. fF’, Frontatus, Gould, is a nearly allied species of Hobby from Australia. ? MERLINS. 15. Hypotriorchis Gésalon, Get. Falco, apud GmELIn—F. lithofaico, Auct.—BuytTu, Cat, (ee Horsr., Cat 283—P. E. 447—Gou.p, Birds of Europe, pl. 24. Toe MERLIN. Descr.—The young bird has the head rufous, with dark streaks; the rest of the plumage above brown, tinged grey, with dark shafts, and pale rufous edges; quills dark brown; tail ashy brown, barred with rufous: the chin is white, the rest of the plumage beneath pale ochry white, with broad brown marks, reduced to lines on the thighs and under tail coverts. The adult has the upper plumage fine blackish grey, darkest on the crown, and reddish, mixed with white, on the nape; ears yellow- ish grey; quills blackish brown; tail grey, with a broad black band white-tipped at the end: chin and throat white; the same tinged with ochry on the breast, and with reddish orange on the abdomen, with dark brown spots. The female is said to be browner 36 BIRDS OF INDIA. than the male, with the markings more rufous, and the lower parts ochry white, tinged with rufous on the breast, and the spots larger and more numerous. Length of a female 134 inches; wing nearly 9; tail 53: the wings reach to about 14 inches from the end of the tail, which is very slightly rounded. A male was 11} inches; wing 8; tail 5. The third quill feather is about equal to the second. The Merlin appears a very rare visitant to the extreme north west frontier of India, during the cold season only. Dr. Adams observed it in the north west of the Punjab. Mr. Blyth, in his Catalogue, gives the north west Himalayas with a query. It is found in Europe and Western Asia, and used to be trained to hunt quails, larks, and even snipe, in England. It is said to follow the quarry very closely, and to be a bird of great activity and speed. In these particulars it resembles the next one. It is said to breed on the side of some ravine, on a rock, or bank. 16. Hypotriorchis Chicquera, Davp. Falco, apud DaupIN—SykEs, Cat. 14—Horsr., Cat.27—Buiytu, Cat. 66—JERpDoN, Cat. 30—GouLp, Him. Birds, pl. 2— Turumti, Turumtart, Turumti, and Tutri mutri, Hind, (the female)—Chetwa, (the male)—Jellaganta, or Jelgadda, Tel.—Jelkat of the Yerklees. THe TuRUMTI, OR RED-HEADED MERLIN. Descr.—Young bird, head, nape, and moustache dark dusky rufous, with dark mesial lines; the upper parts grey, with dark markings to all the feathers; quills darker; tail with numerous bars, and a broad black terminal band ; beneath white, more or less tinged rusty, with some streaks on the neck and breast, and broad- ish bars on the abdomen and thigh coverts. Adult, head, nape, and cheek stripe, bright rufous; the rest of the plumage above fine pale grey; quills dark slaty ; tail light grey, with a broad black terminal band, white tipped at the end; beneath white, unspotted to the breast, all the rest of the lower parts with narrow cross bands of dusky grey; quills with the inner webs banded dusky and whitish; tail with narrow cross bars, con- spicuous beneath, not seen above; cere, orbitar skin, and legs, bright yellow. FALCONINA. on Length of a female 14 to 15 inches; wing 9; tail 53. A male is 11 to 12 inches; wimg 7,8,; tail42. A male weighed 6 oz., a female 94 oz. The wings do not reach further than 14 inches, or 12 of the end of the tail in the female; the tail is distinctly rounded. The specific name Chicquera has been erroneously applied to this Falcon, as it is the Hindustani name for the common sparrow-hawk of India. : The Turumti is universally spread throughout India, from north to south, but is rare in the forest districts, as it affects chiefly open country in the vicinity of cultivation. It frequents gardens, groves of trees, and even large single trees in the open country, whence it sallies forth, sometimes circling aloft, but more generally, especially in the heat of the day, gliding with inconceivable rapidity along some hedgerow, bund of a tank, or across some fields, and poun- cing suddenly on some lark, sparrow, or wagtail. It very often hunts in pairs, and I have now and then seen it hover like a Kestril for a few seconds. It preys chiefly on small birds, especially the social larks (Coryphidea calandrella), sparrows, and the small ringed-plovers (Charadrius); also not unfrequently on bats, which Ihave seen it seize on the wing just at dusk. It breeds on high trees, and has usually 4 eggs of a yellowish brown color, mottled with brown spots. The young fly early, by the end of March or beginning of April. It has a shrill angry scream, and is very courageous, driving away crows, kites, and even the Wokhab (Aquila fusca,) from the vicinity of its nest or perch. It is occasionally reclaimed, and flown at quail, partridges, mynas, but especially at the Indian Jay or Roller (Coracias indica). In pursuit of this quarry the Falcon follows most closely and persever- ingly, but is often baulked by the extraordinary evolutions of the Roller, who now darts off obliquely, then tumbles down perpen- dicularly, screaming all the time, and endeavouring to gain the shelter of the nearest tree or grove. But even here he is not safe; the Falcon follows him from branch to branch, drives him out again, and sooner or later the exhausted quarry falls a victim to the ruthless bird of prey. Ihave known Falconers train the Tur- umti to hunt in couples. 38 BIRDS OF INDIA. The Indian name, Turumti, appears to owe its origin to Tur- umtat, given by Pallas as the Calmuc name of the Hobby. A very nearly allied species of Merlin exist in Africa, F. rujicollis, Sw., chicqueroides, A. Smith, long considered as the same, but now recognized as distinct by Hartlanb and others. Kanp., P. Z. S. 1851, calls it a sub-species of the other, differing im its darker colours, more striped head, and with the cheek stripe darker and more distinct. Gen. TINNUNCULUS, Vieill. Of small size; bill as in Falco; wings moderate, or rather long, with the first and second quill emarginated; tail long, rounded, tarsus somewhat lengthened, stout, with a series of large hexagonal, scales in front; feet small; outer and inner toes nearly equal, claws sub-equal; plumage soft. The Kestrils form a well-marked group of small Falcons, easily recognised by a peculiar style of coloration. The sexes, when adult, generally differ remarkably in colour. They are found all over the world. The falconine structure is less strongly marked, the sternum is weaker, and their habits proportionally less rapa- cious and more insectivorous. 17. Tinnunculus Alaudarius, Briss. Faleo, apud Brisson—F. tinnunculus, L.—Syxus, Cat. 13—JuEr- pon, Cat. 31—Horsr., Cat. 11—Buiyvtu, Cat. 69—F. interstinctus, M’CLELL, P.Z.S.1839—P. E. 401, 411—Goutxp, Birds of Europe, pl. 26.—Narzi (the female), Narzanak (the male) Hind., in the South of India—Khermulia or Kurrontia, in the North—Tondala muchi gedda, Tel., t. e. Lizard-killing Kite,—also Tondala doshi gadu. THE KEstTRIL. Descr.—Female (and young male). Above of a reddish vina- ceous colour, with long dark stripes on the head and neck, broadish bars on the back and wing coverts; tail with numerous dark bars, and a broader one at the end, white tipped; cheek stripe dark, of small extent; ears hoary; plumage beneath reddish ochraceous, with numerous and close brown spots. FALCONINA, 39 The adult male has the forehead yellowish; head, nape, and tail fine ashy grey, the latter with a broad black band, andthe former sometimes tinged black; mantle and wing coverts vinaceous, with some black heart-shaped spots ; beneath creamy or rusty with spots of brown, linear on the breast, oval on the abdomen, and heart- shaped on the sides; the under tail coverts are unspotted; quills brown, with white bands or spots on the inner webs. Length of a female 15 inches; wing 103; tail 7. A male measures 13 to 14 mches; wing 10; tail 64. The wings do not reach to the end of tail by 14 to 14 inches; the second quill is the longest. — The Kestril is a cold weather visitant to India, one of our earliest, indeed; and it does not leave till April. It is most abun- dant, being found in every part of the country, and at all eleva- tions. Its chief food is lizards, but it also eats rats and mice, insects, especially grasshoppers and locusts, and rarely young or sickly birds. It constantly hovers over a spot where it has observed something move, and when certain of its presence, drops down on it with noiseless wing. Blyth mentions that parties of twenty or thirty individuals may be seen together beating over the cultivated lands in Lower Bengal. This I have never witnessed. It does not breed in this country. Dr. Horsfield in his Catalogue, apparently “quoting from Mr. Blyth, says,—“ It breeds in April in lofty trees, and also on the top of minarets.” I imagine he must have been quoting from some other naturalist, not an observer in India. In England it breeds on shelves of rocks, in ravines; also in old ruined buildings, churches, &c. | It used to be trained occasionally in Europe to hunt larks, quails, and other small birds, but it is scouted by the Indian Falconers as an ignoble race. Gen, ErRytHROPUS, Brehm. Syn. Zianunculus, pars, Gray,—Tichornis, pars, Kaup. yy, » pars, Y> » pars, Pp Bill as in Falco, but small. Wings long, only the first quill emar- ’ ro) °? if 4 ginate ; tail moderate, rounded; tarsus with some larger scales in front; outer toe scarcely longer than the inner one; claws subequal, pale. Sexes, when adult, differ in colour. Size small. 40 BIRDS OF INDIA. This type may be considered a subordinate one to Tinnunculus, from which it chiefly differs by its longer wings, and more equal, pale claws. It is more exclusively insectivorous than Tinnunculus. 18. Erythropus Cenchris, Naum. Falco, apud NauMANN—F. tinnunculoides Auct.—Horsr., Cat. 12—Biytu, Cat. 72—GouLp, Birds of Europe, pl. 29. THe LEsseR KESTRIL. Descr.—Young bird and female colored very like a female Kestril; the cheek stripe is wider, and the spots beneath are broader; the quills barred internally with rufous; tail with numerous blackish bands, with a terminal dark band, not so broad as in the last. The adult male has the head, wing coverts, and tail, fine blue grey, without any bands; the back, mantle, and wing coverts, vinaceous red; quills black, not barred nor spotted; beneath, pale vinous, lightest on the throat and under tail coverts. Length of a female 13 inches; wing 94; tail 64. A male mea- sures about 12; wing 94; tail 54. Cere, orbits, and legs yellow; claws yellowish white ; irides deep brown. I have only hitherto, that I am aware of, seen this Falcon on the Neilgherries, where I found it breeding on some cliffs in May and June. I find from Mr. Blyth that it visits Bengal during the rains. Dr. Adams met with it in Cashmere, and found it feeding on the mountain pipit. Not much is recorded of its habits, but it is known to be insectivorous, and has been seen seizing insects on the wing, and pulling off the elytra of beetles. In Palestine it is said to breed in company on ruins and old buildings. It is also said, like Vespertinus, to be very social. 19. Erythropus Vespertinus, Lr. Falco, apud Linn xus—Horsf., Cat. No 183—Buiytu, Cat. 74— JEKDON, 2nd. Suppl. Cat., 30 bis—P. E., 431—GouLp, Birds of Europe, pl. 23—Karjanna or Karjoona, Hind. FALCONINE. 41 Rep Leccep Farcon. Descr.—Y oung bird above dark slaty grey, some of the feathers centred and tipped darker ; tail light grey, obsoletely barred ; ocular region and cheek stripe nearly black; narrow frontal band, superci- lium, lores, ear feathers, and sidesof the neck and throat white ; breast and abdomen rusty white, with blackish brown marks, longi- tudinal on the breast, heart-shaped on the sides, and arrow-like on the centre of the abdomen; vent, under tail coverts, and thigh coverts, pale unspotted rusty; bill fleshy red, with a dusky tip; cere and legs deep orange red; claws fleshy ; orbitar skin orange yellow. The adult male has the whole upper plumage unspotted ashy; pale ashy beneath; chin and throat whitish; wings dusky black; thigh coverts, and under tail coverts, bright, rusty red. Wings slightly shorter than the tail. Length of a female 114 inches; wing 94; extent 27; tail 5. A male was nearly 11 inches long, and had the wing 8. Although the adult male in its mode of coloration resembles, the Kestrils, especially the lesser Kestril, yet the colors of the young bird and female approach more to that of the Hobbies. Its changes of plumage are not very fully known, and we are unaware if the female ever assumes that of the adult male. It is not common in India, but is generally spread throughout the country. I have killed it on the Neilgherries, in the Carnatic, in Central India; and it is not very unfrequent in Lower Bengal, and the neighbourhood of Calcutta, during the rainy season only. It is found all along the Himalayan range. I procured it at Darjeeling. Out of India it is found in the South of Europe, in Central and Western Asia, and in N. Africa. Not much is known of its habits. Those that I exa- mined myself had partaken of insects only. It is said to be very social, both hunting and breeding in small parties. Fellowes says that it is very commonin Asia Minor, building its nests under the roofs, and sometimes even in the interior of houses. According to Pallas it hunts towards the evenmg, kills spiders, water insects, and occasionally swallows, and breeds in deserted crows’ nests. EF 42 BIRDS OF INDIA. Gen. HrEerAx, Vigors. Char.—Bill short, upper mandible with a sharp tooth, and a notch on each side, often described as a double tooth; wings short, 2nd and 3rd quills equal and longest, -slightly notched near the tip ; tail rather short, even; tarsus rather short, stout, with large transverse scuta in front; toes scutellated; middle toe not much elongated; anterior claws not very unequal, strong; hind claw large. These beautiful little falcons, the pigmies of the order, are very little bigger than a sparrow: their sternum is notched posteriorly, and the cranium very large and vaulted. Kaup makes them the pre-eminent or parrot tribe among the Falcons. They are peculiar to India and Malayana. 20. Hierax Eutolmos, Hopes. Gray’s Zool. Misc. 1844—H. bengalensis, apud BLytn J. A- 5. -. XII. 180, and Bon.—Horsr., Cat. 15—Buytu, Cat., be Tingpum mepa, Bhot. WHITE-NAPED PigMy FALCON. Upper parts black, glossed with green ; wings and tail with the inner webs of the feathers with white spots; forehead, broad superciliary line extending to the nape, and sides of neck and breast, white; chin, throat, abdomen, thigh coverts, vent, and under tail coverts, ferruginous. In some the ferruginous is more marked than in others, especially on the chin and throat. Length 6 to 64 inches; wing 4 to 43; tail 2}; tarsus 3; mid toe and claw nearly This beautiful little Falcon is found in Nepal, Sikhim, Assam, and Arracan. Their habits are little known. They are said by the natives of the hills to seize small birds, and also insects. The stomach of the only one I procured at Darjeeling was empty. T have never heard that they are trained for hawking, and the bird alluded to by Captain Mundy, considered by Mr. Blyth, (J. A S., XI.,789,) to be one ofthese tiny Falcons, I have very little doubt 5 ccs eet COR ne ere Mea eal a La a IT RRS nnd ACCIPITRIN As. 43 was the Dhuti, or male of the Besra Sparrow-hawk, all the birds of which kind are thrown from the hand, exactly as described by Mundy. Buchanan, however, mentions that a small hawk, which he calls Falco minutus, very little larger than a lark, was used for hawking by the Pangea Rajah in Rungpore. fT. melanoleucos, Blyth, from Assam, differs in the lower parts, including the thigh coverts, being entirely white. Other species are HH. cerulescens of Java and Malayana; H. erythrogenys, Vigors, from the Philippines; and H. sericeus from China. Harpagus, of S. America, has two teeth in the upper mandible, the tarsi are longer, and have large scales in front, and the wings are shorter. It may be said to lead the way to the short-winged hawks. Sub-fam. AcCCIPITRINZ, Hawks. Bill short and stout, curving from the base, with a blunt tooth or festoon in the upper mandible; wings short, rounded ; tail longish, ample, and rounded; tarsus long, scutellate in front, or nearly smooth in some ; toes long ; claws long, curved and acute, unequal ; inner claw large. This family comprises the Sparrowhawks and Goshawks, and is spread over the whole world. ‘They vary in size as much as the Falcons almost, for although none of them are so minute as the flierar, yet none of the Falcons rival the Goshawk in size and strencth. The difference of size in the sexes is very much marked in this family. Their flight is often near the ground, and is per- formed by a few rapid strokes of the wings, alternating with a sailng with outspread wings. ‘hey are more arboreal im their habits than the Falcons, hunting in woods, or on the skirts of woods, or along avenues and hedge rows; and they generally seize their prey by a sudden pounce during their flight, not following the quarry to any distance as the Falcons do. They breed almost invariably on trees. Their changes of plumage according to age are usually from a mottled brown above, to a purer brown or grey; and the markings of the lower surface change from oval drops to transverse bars, or are sometimes gradually obliterated. The eyes of all are yellow, in some with age becoming red; and they are the Gulab chusm of Indian 44 BIRDS OF INDIA. Falconers, é. ¢, the rose-eyed or light-eyed, as opposed to the Black-eyed, Falcons. The limits of this family do not appear to me to have been so strictly marked out by systematists as they are by nature. The Fal- cons and the Hawks, being the most typical groups of the Falconide, vary less in their forms than the other and more aberrant divisions ; and, as far as I can judge, several forms are placed here which more strictly belong to other families. The genus Herpetotheres, judging from the figure of its tarsus and feet in Gray’s Genera of Birds, cannot well be placed among the hawks; and its short toes and sub-equal claws point out its place as among the Avtes. Its type is the. Palco cachinnans of Linneus. Greranospija or Ischnoscelis has very lone tarsi, and toes of moderate leneth, with the outer toe the shortest. This structure is of rare occurrence among the diurnal Falconide, the only others instances, that I know of, being in Neopus and Pandion. ‘The Hawk eagles, placed in this family by Horsfield and- Bonaparte, in our views, are clearly eagles, as shown by their general structure, and mode of change of colour; and Morphnus, also placed here by Bonaparte, either belongs also to the Hagles, or to the Buzzards. Asturina, alsoa South American form, is said by Kaup to be a vulturine type among the Hawks, as shown by its rather long and straight bill, and buzzard-like carriage and habits. In this case it cannot well be placed as a sub-genus of Astur. Gen. AsTurR, Lac. Syn. Dadalion, Sav. Char.—Bill short, stout, curved from the base, compressed, with a prominent festoon or rounded tooth in the upper mandible, near the middle ; nostrils large, oval, oblique, near the culmen ; lores thickly clad with minute feathers ; wings short, rounded; first quill short, fourth and fifth quills usually equal and longest. Taillong, far ex- ceeding the points of the wings, nearly even, or slightly rounded. Tarsus moderate, or shortish, plumed below the knees for nearly half the length of the tarsus, stout, with large scuta in front and behind; near the knee, posteriorly, the scales are small and reticulated ; toes strong, outer toe longer than the inner one, jomed : y A ) , : A : ¥ ! ACCIPITRIN&. 45 to the middle one; middle toe moderately long; claws well-curved, unequal ; inner claw very laree, about equal to that of the hind toe. The Goshawks are typically birds of large size and very robust make. They are very powerful and speedy for a short time, and are remarkably bold. They live chiefly in wooded districts, and are found over all the world. They nestle on trees, laying three or four eggs. 21. Astur Palumbarius, Liv. Falco, apud Linnaxus—Pl. enl., 418, 423, 461—Govutp, Birds of Europe, pl. 17—Buyru, Cat. 101—Horsx., Cat. 51—Jurnon, 2nd Suppl. Cat., 36, bis—F. Gallinarius, Guent.—Baz, H. (the female) ; Jurra (the male)—Shahbaz, in Sindh—(The word Baz appears to be the same as the Bucharian or Persian Baz and Basi, being respectively the names given to the Peregrine Falcon by those people, according to Pallas. The GosHAWK. Descr.—The young bird is brown above, the feathers edved with a paler hue on the head, indeed often rusty, with a dark central spot; nape whitish; wings and tail light brown, the latter with an ashy tinge, banded with darker brown: beneath rusty white, with . long dark-brown streaks throughout; under tail coverts white, with - narrow stripes; streak over the eye, and cheeks, also white with brown streaks. The adult is uniform lieht brown above, with a greyish tinge; beneath white, with cross bands of rich hair or yellowish brown, and the shafts dark ; the thigh coverts are also narrowly banded; the under tail coverts unspotted, white: the tail has three conspicuous broad brown bands, and a fourth indistinct one near the base. Length of afemale 24 inches; wing 14; tail néarly 10.—Weight 2tbs. 140z. The male is 20 inches long; wing 13; tail 9. The Goshawk is found in the Himalayas, and I think also on the Neilcherries, though rare there. Ifit ever occurs in the plains, it is only a stragoler, or a bird of passage. I saw, on more than one occasion on the Neilgherries, near the top of Dodabet, the highest hill of the group, a large bird of prey, dashing impetuously into a * 46 BIRDS OF INDIA. thick wood. Its manner of flight, and the way with which it dived into the wood, made me conclude at once that it was a Goshawk. The only other large bird of prey that I could have mistaken it for is the Buzzard, a bird of very different flight. The Baz is the most highly esteemed bird of prey in India, and a trained bird used to be sold for a large sum in former days. They are caught when young, and sold on the skirts of the N. W. Himalayas, to falconers from different parts of India, for prices varying from 20 to 50 Rs. for the female, and from 10 to 20 or 30 for the male. The Baz is trained to strike the Houbara bustard, Kites, and Neophrons, Duck, and many other large water birds, as Cormorants, Herons, Ibises, &c. It is, however, chiefly trained to catch hares. For this purpose she is booted or furnished with leather lezvings to prevent her legs being injured by thorns, as the hare generally drags the hawk some yards after being struck. She strikes with one leg only, and stretches the other one out behind to clutch grass, twigs, or any thing on the ground, to put the drag, as it were, on the hare. The Jurra is trained to strike partridges, rock pigeon, crows, teal, &c., &c. The Goshawk flies direct at its prey, and gets its speed at once; and if it does not reach the quarry within a reasonable distance, say from 100 to 200 yards, it generally gives up the chase; and either returns to the falconer’s fist, or perches on some neighbouring tree, or on the ground. In a wild state the Goshawk is said to be very destructive to pheasants and other game birds. It breeds on trees, laying from two to four eggs. It is found throughout the wooded parts of Europe and Asia, and is occasionally killed in Scotland. A nearly allied species is A. atricapilla of N. America, and other species are found in all countries. One of the most remarkable is the white Goshawk, A. nove Hollandie, pure white.* Sub.-gen, LopHospizA, Kaup. Merely differs from Astuwr by being smaller and crested, and the posterior scuta of the tarsus extending to the knee. * Pallas notices a white Goshawk as found in the extreme N, E. part of Asia,— Can this be the Australian bird? waite. ACCIPITRIN A. Aq 22. Astur (Lophospiza) trivirgatus, Tem. Falco, apud Temmincx, Pl. col. 303—Buytu, Cat. 102—Horsr., Cat. 52—As. indicus, Hopes.—JERDON, Suppl. Cat. 36—Spizaetus rufitinctus, MCLELLAND—A. cristatus, GRAY—A. palumbarius, apud JERDON, Cat. 36.—Gor-besra, H., 7. e., Mountain Besra, sometimes also called Manak besra, and Koteswar—Churiali, of the Eastern Terai —Jamal kathi, also Jurye, in Nepal—Kokila dega, Tel., i. e. Cuckoo Hawk, (from the resemblance of the lower plumage to that of the Hudynamys orientalis). The CRESTED GOSHAWK. Descr.—The young bird is brown above, with pale edgings to the feathers; eyebrows white, and some white or rufous about the nape ; below white, more or less spotted on the breast abdomen, and flanks with dark brown spots, least numerous in the male; tail pale ashy brown, with four or five dark broad bands; thigh coverts with trans- verse brown bands; a narrow dark line down the centre of the chin and throat; and two more, one on each side of the neck, not very distinct in the male, but becoming more so with age ; an occipital crest of several elongated feathers; under wing coverts white, with brown spots; quills, and tail, beneath, light cinereous, with dark bands. The adult bird has the upper plumage glossy dark brown, in some with an olivaceous tinge, in older birds witha dark slaty hue, especially when freshly moulted; wings and tail banded, the latter with four distinct dark bands; beneath white, the throat, and upper part of the breast, with pale yellow brown oval spots; the rest of the plumage beneath barred with rich yellow brown; the bars broad on the breast, belly, and flanks; narrow on the thigh coverts, but all becoming more narrow by age. Irides bright yellow; legs pale yellow; cere lemon yellow. Length of a male 16 inches; wing 84; tail 7; tars, 2.2. A female was 174 inches; wing 94; tail 8; tarsus 2}. A large female from Darjeeling measures above 20 inches; wing 114; tail 9. The Gor-besra is found in all the hilly and wooded regions of India, on the Himalayas, the Neeleherries, and occasionally on both the Eastern and Western Ghats. “It is not very rare in the 48 BIRDS OF INDIA. Neelgherries, and occasionally commits depredation on pigeons and chickens, making a pounce on them from a considerable height. In general it keeps to the woods or their skirts, dashing on birds sometimes from a perch on a tree, but generally circling over the woods, and making a sudden pounce on any suitable prey that offers itself. It hunts very usually in pairs. I did not find it breeding, but Layard asserts that it breeds on rocks in Ceylon; that it is a bold and daring bird, robbing hens’ roosts; and that it is trained in Ceylon. It used, indeed, to beso in India formerly ; but IT have never seen a trained one here. It was taught to strike partridges chiefly. MchLelland must have been greatly misin- formed by the natives, when he says it ‘‘ conceals itself in bushes and grass along the edge of the water, seizing such fishes as ap- proach the surface within its reach.” This might be the case with Poliornis teesa, a bird of about the same size as this Goshawk, and for which it was probably taken by his native informant. Gen. Micronisus, Gray. Syn. Misastur Blyth. Char.—Bill short, curving from the base, moderately compress- ed, the festoon not remarkably prominent ; tail moderately long, not very slender; tarsus comparatively short, stout, with promi- nent scuta in front, and a few behind, and the reticulated scales on the sides very distinct; toes short, stout; inner toe about equal to the hind toe. These Hawks are found in the hot parts of the Old World, and differ from the true Sparrow-hawks in their stouter make, shorter tarsus and toes, and also in coloration. They are birds of much less bold and daring disposition in their wild state, and less speedy than the true Sparrowhawks, living a good deal on reptiles; but they are very docile, and by good training become very courageous. 23. Micronisus badius, Guet. Faleo, apud GmMELin—BuytnH, Cat. 98—Horsr., Cat. 48— JERDON, 2nd Suppl. Cat. 32—Faleco Brownii, Suaw—Brown, Ill. Zool., pl. 3.—F. Dussumierii, Tem., Pl. col. 808—326—A. ACCIPITRIN&, 49 dukhunensis, SyKEs, Cat. 10—JEeRpon, Cat. 32—A. scutarius, and A. fringillaroides of Hopason—Astur bifasciatus, PeaALE—Shikra (the female) ; and Chipka or Chippak (the male) H.—Kathia (the female) and Tunna (the male,) in Nepal—Jale dega, Tel.—Chinna wallur, Tam. The SHIKRA. Descr.—The young bird is dark reddish, or dusky brown above. the feathers edged with rufous, most broadly so in the male; back of the head and nape a good deal variegated with white; tail light ashy brown, with six dark bands; beneath white, with a central dark chin line; the breast and abdomen with large oval brown spots, longer on the breast, rounded on the abdomen; the thigh coverts rufescent white, with smaller spots; under tail coverts with a very few faint stripes. The male has usually fewer spots than the female. Ivrides pale yellow; feet yellow; bill bluish, dusky at the tip; and the cere yellow. The adult bird is pale ashy grey above, darkest on the head, and with a dusky reddish nape, only conspicuous when the head is bent forwards; tail, with the two centre feathers, and the two outer ones not barred, the others only barred on the inner webs; quills blackish grey, with some dark narrow bands on the inner webs. Beneath white, with a faint chin stripe, not always present ; breast and upper abdomen closely barred with pale rufescent fawn- colored transverse marks; the lower abdomen, thigh coverts, and under tail coverts pure white; irides deep orange color; cere bright yellow; feet dark buff yellow. This plumage is not assumed before the fourth or fifth year, and the intermediate changes may be said to consist in the upper plumage becoming more uniform and ashy; the longitudinal drops beneath changing to transverse bars, gradually becoming lighter, and with age disappearing in some parts; and in the bars of the tail also gradually being obliterated. Length of a male 124 inches; wing 74; tail53. A female is 14 to 15 inches long; wing 84; tail 7; tarsus nearly 2; middle toe 1,8. Weight of a male 5 to 6oz.; of a female 84 to 9Loz. The Shikra is very common throughout the whole of India, spreading to Ceylon, Assam, Burmah, and Malayana; also to G 50 BIRDS OF INDIA. Afghanistan, and probably other parts of Asia. It frequents open jungles, groves, gardens, and avenues. It either takes alow stealthy flicht along the edges of a wood, garden, or hedge row, and poun- ces on any unwary bird or lizard, or soars high in circles and poun- ces down when it sees any prey. Its general food appears to be li- zards, but it frequently seizes small birds, rats or mice, and sometimes does not disdain alarge grasshopper. It is more commonly trained than any other hawk in India. It is very quickly and easily re- claimed, and, though not remarkable for speed, can yet seize quails and partridges if put up sufficiently close. It is, however, a bird of great courage, and can be taught to strike a large quarry, such as the common crow, the small grey hornbill, the crow pheasant, (Centropus), young pea fowl, and small herons. The Shikra breeds on trees from April to June, making a large nest of sticks; and has usually four eggs, white, much blotched with reddish brown. It is exceedingly closely allied to A. sphenurus, Riippell, of N. Africa, to A. brachydactyla, of Western Africa, and to A. polyzo- noides, Smith, of Southern Africa; but, according to Sclater, is dis- tinguishable from all. These hawks, of course, appertain to Micronisus. There is another species from Malacca and the Isles, M. Soloensis (Horsf.), also very closely allied, but smaller, and otherwise distinguishable. Gen. ACCIPITER, Brisson. Syn. Misus, Cuv. Char.—Bill very short, curving from the base, compressed, with a very prominent festoon in the middle of the edge of the upper mandible ; nostrils oval, oblique; wings rounded, the 4th and 5th quills nearly equal; tail long, slightly rounded or even, slender ; tarsi long, slender; the scuta very smooth, and scarcely perceptible; toes long, slender; the inner toe considerably shorter than the outer one, but longer than the hind toe; claws well curved.. This genus differs from the last by its more slender form, longer tail, longer tarsus and toes; and the birds comprising it are more active and speedy, and in the wild state more bold and destructive Species of this genus are found all over the world. ACCIPITRIN®. 51 24. Accipiter Nisus, Lr. Falco, apud Linnzus—Buiytu Cat. 94—Horsr., Cat. 43., P. E. 467, 412—Gould, Birds of Europe, pl. 18—A. fringillarius, Ray—JERDON, Suppl. Cat. 33—A. Dussumierii, apud JerDOoN, Cat. 33—A nisosimilis, TicokELL—A. subtypicus, Hopes.—Basha (the female)—Bashin (the male), Hind.—Warnapa dega, Tel.— Lanki, Lepch.— Uchum; Bhotia. THE EUROPEAN SPARROW-HAWE. Descr.—Young bird yellowish brown above, the feathers edged with ochrey, not much so in female; the quills banded on their inner webs, and the tail with four bands; beneath ochrey white, with brown longitudinal streaks on the chin and throat, changing to bars on the breast, lower abdomen, and thigh coverts. The adult is blackish or brownish grey above, white on the eye- brow and nape; the quills brown-banded, and the tail more ashy and lighter, with four bands, the last widest and with a white tip, the others somewhat indistinct in very old birds; the throat and chin pale ochrey white, with brown stripes; the rest of the plu- mage beneath white, the feathers with brown shafts, and densely banded with reddish ochrey, in some specimens quite rusty : under tail coverts pure white. The adult female differs somewhat from the male in being paler and browner above, and in the lower parts being whiter, with the bars and markings more narrow. Inis golden yellow, legs pale yellow. Length of a male 12 to 13 inches; wing 83; tail 6; tars. 21. A female measures 15 to 16 inches; ext. 25; wing 94; tail 74; tarsus 24; mid toe 12. The sparrow-hawk of Eneland is a cold weather visitant to India, coming in very regularly about the beginning of October, and leav- ing again about the end of February or March according to the locality. It is found throughout India in suitable places, chiefly in hilly and jungly districts, but not in dense forests in general. I have got it on the Neilgherries, abundant on the Eastern Ghauts, where many are caught every year, and in all the hilly 52 BIRDS OF INDIA. countries of Central India, and on the Ilimalayas. At Darjeeling it may frequently be seen in cleared ground, circling about on the watch for any bird that may pass over. It is very highly prized by the natives for falconry, being very speedy; and is used to capture partridges, quails, courier plovers (Cursorius), and even rock pigeon (Pterocles). 25. Accipiter Virgatus, Tem. Falco, apud Temuinck, Pl. col. 109--BiytH, Cat. 96—HorsrF, Cat. 46—Acc. besra, and A. fringillarius, JeRDON, Cat. Nos. 34 and 35—JeRDON, Ill. Ind. Orn., pl. 4, (young male,) and 29, (adult female)—A. affinis. Hopgson—aA. dussumierii, apud, SyKus, Cat. 11—Besra (the female), Dhoti (the male), Hind.— Vaishtapa dega, ‘Tel.— Ur-chitlu, Canarese of the Halapyks. THE Besra SPARROW-HAWEK. Descr.—The young bird is dark brown above, the feathers edged paler and rufous, tinged with dusky on the cheeks and ears; tail light brown, with dark bars; beneath white, with a mesial throat stripe, and broad oval brown drops on the breast and abdomen» most numerous in the female. The adult bird has the plumage above deep and glossy olive brown, with a blackish or slaty tint; the head and neck dusky black; ears and face light dusky; the tail light greyish, with four dark bands on the centre tail feathers, and six on the outer ones ; throat white, with a mesial blackish stripe, and a few streaks of the same; the rest of the lower parts white, very closely band- ed with bright ferruginous brown, mixed with dusky brown; under tail coverts pure white. With increasing age the brown of the upper parts become dark slaty, blackish on the head, and light on the tail, and the transverse bands of the breast tend to coalesce, and the lower belly to become whiter. In the female, after the first moult, the breast is marked with oval light yellow brown drops, and the abdomen with broadish bars. The adult male differs from the female in being more grey on the upper parts; in the breast and flanks being almost ferruginous, ACCIPITRIN ©. 53 ¢ and in the bands on the lower belly, and thigh coverts, being fewer and lighter in tint, Trides bright yellow; cere pale lemon yellow; legs and feet greenish yellow. Leneth of a male about 11 inches; wing 62; tail 5; tars. 2. A female measured 144 ; wings 84; tail 64 ; tars. 24. A male weighed 5ioz. ; a. female 7oz. The Besra, or Jungle Sparrowhawk, is comparatively rare, though well-known throughout India to all who take an interest in hawking. It is found in all the large forests of India; in the Himalayas, on the slopes of the Neelzherries, in the Malabar forests, and here and there on the Eastern Ghats, and the forests of Central India. It extends to Assam, Burmah, Malayana, and the Isles. After the breeding season is over, about July, a few birds, usually young ones, straggle to various portions of the more wooded parts of the country. Mr. Elliot says he has only met with it in the Soonda Jungles (in Canara.) The Besra and other short-winged Hawks, as well as occasion- ally the Lugger and some of the Falcons, are usually caught by what is called among Falconers the Do Guz. This is a small thin net from four to five feet long, and about three feet broad, stained of a dark colour, and fixed between two thin pieces of bamboo, by a cord on which it runs. The bamboos are fixed lightly in the eround, and a living bird is picketed about the middle of the net, and not quite a foot distant from it. The Hawk makes a dash at the bird, which it-sees struggling at its tether, and in the keenness of its rush, either not observing the net from its dark colour, or not heeding it, dashes into it, the two side sticks give way, and the net folds round the bird so effectually as to keep it almost from fluttering. The Besra is said to be somewhat more difficult to train than most of the Hawks, and it is a delicate bird, and requires creat care and attention, especially during the hot season. It is highly es- teemed among native Falconers, and sells for a considerable price. It is very speedy, and is particularly active and clever in jungle, being a denizen of the forests in its wild state. It is chiefly flown 54 BIRDS OF INDIA. at the partridge, which it seizes in general with great ease and certainty; also occasionally at quails, snipes, and doves. ‘The male or dhoti, is but seldom trained, and is then flown at spar- rows, brahminy mynas (Pastor pagodarum), and other small birds. Irom the concurrent testimony of all falconers in India, there is another species of Sparrow-hawk, well known as the KHANDESRA, occasionally found in certain parts of the country. Among other localities poited out to me, as occasionally resorted to by this hawk, is the tract of jungly country in South Arcot and Chingleput, bordering on Tanjore and Trichinopoly. Here this hawk has been captured within the last twenty years, according to my informants; but I was unable to procure one, in 1843, when I sent my Meer Shikar there for that purpose. It is stated to be a migratory bird, only found occasionally. It is known to the Telugu Meer shi- kars, as Kansara-pu-dega. It is very probably Blyth’s A. nisoides, Cat. 95., J. A. S., XVI., 727., which differs from A. Nisus in its smaller size, in the throat being streakless white, except a narrow median line, and the usual lateral lines, which, however, are very inconspicuous. Length of wing 7} inches ; tail 54. It may, however, be AMicronisus soloensis, said by some writers to have been taken on the Coats of Coromandel.— Other species of Sparrow-hawk are found all over the world. Melierax is an African type, with the tarsus very long and reticulated, with a series of larger scales in front, and is certainly an aberrant form. The male of the best known species, M. musicus, is said, but probably erroneously, to sing. Sub-Fam. Aquinina.—Eagles. Bill strong, more or less lenothened, straight at first, curved towards the point; wings moderate or long, 4th quill usually the longest; tail moderate or rather long; tarsus rather long, stout, bare, or feathered; toes moderate, strong; claws well curved. Of large size and robust make. The Eagles are the largest of all the Falconide, and contain within themselves several distinct types, so that it is difficult to give general characteristics of the whole family. As a whole, they AQUILINA. 55 are much inferior in courage to the Falcons and Hawks, though su- perior in this respect to the Kites and Buzzards. They are much on the wing, hunting for their prey, and nestle both on cliffs and on trees. ‘They may be divided into the following groups :— True Hagles,—Kite HEagles,—Hawk Kagles,-—Serpent Eagles,— and Fishing Eagles. 1st.—True Eagles. Gen. AQUILA. Char.—Bill strong, more or less lengthened, straight at the base, arching downwards towards the tip, which is moderately hooked ; upper mandible with the margin somewhat sinuate ; nostrils oblique, oblong; wings long, with the 4th and 5th quills sub-equal and longest; tail moderate or long, rounded or. graduated; tarsus moderately long, feathered to the toes; toes with reticulated scales, with some large scuta near the claws, which are of moderate size and curvature ; the hind toe and claw powerful; the outer toe joined by a small web to the middle toe. These are the typical Eagles, and are the largest of the family ; but they vary greatly in size. They are usually birds of plain and dark plumage, and have dark irides. The largest of them destroy various quadrupeds, but few of them disdain food that has not been killed by themselves, and some feed greedily on carrion. 16, Aquila Chrysaetos, Lin. Falco, apud Linyaus—Gou Lb, Birds of Europe, pl. 6—Briytn, Cat. 109—Horsr., Cat. 57—F. niger, Gmet.—F. Melanonotus, Latu.—A. daphenia, Hopeson—A. nobilis, PALLAS. The GOLDEN EAGLE. Descr.—Adult rich dark umber brown, glossed with purple on the back and wings; the feathers of the hind head and nape lanceolate, pale orange brown, having a golden appearance in the sunshine; shoulders, thigh coverts in front, and leg coverts with atinge of the same; quills blackish brown, white towards the base on the inner webs, and clouded with greyish black; tail nearly square, the centre feathers somewhat elongated and narrowed, 56 BIRDS OF INDIA. greyish brown, with numerous dark markings and cloudings, or dusky brown with numerous grey mottlings on the inner web, especially towards the base, almost white on the base in young birds. Trides clear orange brown; cere and feet yellow. Length about 3 feet to 40 inches; extent 8 feet; wing 23° inches; tail 17; tarsus 44; mid toe and claw 4}; bill at gape 23; height 14. The 4th quill is the longest ; the inner claw is longer than the centre one, but the hind claw is the largest; the nostrils are oval, nearly transverse; the wings do not reach nearly to the end of the tail. The young bird has the plumage generally of a much lighter shade, the tail almost pure white, except at the tip, which is broadly dusky black, and a good deal of white on other parts, viz., on the primary quills, secondaries, and at the roots of many of the body feathers, especially on the upper tail coverts. This white is gradually overcome by the occurrence of bars and cloudings, and by the third or fourth year the plumage is perfected. This magnificent Eagle is found but rarely in India, and only, I believe, on the Himalayas. Sykes’ Golden Eagle (Cat. No. 7) is not referred to by Horsfield in his Catalogue, and was most probably the next species, as my supposed Golden Eagle (Cat. No. 9) undoubtedly was. (At Simla and the North-Western Himalayas the Lammergeyer is often called the Golden Eagle.) Its habits in Europe are well known. It breeds on steep cliffs, and lays two eggs white, with brown and purplish blotches. The golden Eagle is found over the greater part of Nor- thern and Central Europe, Asia, and America. In Central Asia it is tramed by the Kirghises and other tribes, to kill antelopes, foxes, and even wolves, it is said ; and is held in the highest esteem by all the tribes of Central Asia. It is carried on a perch between two men, or fixed ona horse. It is said to seize the smaller ani- mals with one foot, and drag the other on the ground, but fixes on the head and neck of the larger animals. It is named Berkut or Bjurkut by the Tartars, and a trained Eacle is worth two * s AQUILINE. 57 camels. It is the Bearcoote of Atkinson in his Travels in Northern and Central Asia.* 27. Aquila Imperialis, Becusr. Falco, apud BrcHsTEIN—GOULD, Birds of Europe, pl. 5— BriyruH, Cat. 100—Horsr., Cat. 58—JERDON, 2nd Suppl., Cat. 9 —Gray and Harpw., Ill. Ind. Zool., 2nd vol., pl. 28—A. mogilnik, GmrL.—A. ‘heliaca, Sav.—A. bifasciata, GRaY and Harpw., Ill. Ind. Zool. 1, pl 17—Syxes, Cat 8—JERDOoN, Cat. No. 10—A. Nipalensis, Hopes. As. Res. XVIII., pl. 13—A. Chrysaetos, apud JerDon, Cat. No. 9—Jumiz, or Jumbiz. Hind.— F: rus, Beng. THE IMPERIAL EAGLE. Deser.—The young bird has the plumage generally pale brown, paler beneath, and albescent towards the vent; two white bands on the wings, caused by the tips of the greater coverts and of the secondaries being white; tip of the tail white. (A. bifasciata). In a more advanced state, the feathers are broadly edged with dark brown, leaving only the centre pale, as in Gray and Hard- wicke’s ficure of amperialis. The adult is a fine rich glossy dark brown; the head and hind neck an orange buff; the forehead dark, from the feathers being streaked with dark brown; quills black; tail dark hoary grey, barred and clouded with blackish, and with a broad black terminal band, tipped whitish; shoulders generally with some white spots, as also the scapulars; under tail coverts pale brownish white; some of the hindermost of the upper tail coverts are nearly white. Cere yellow, with a tinge of green; feet yellow. _ Irides in adults brownish yellow ; dusky brown in the young bird. * Atkinson in his Travels on the Amoor describes and figures a scene which he asserts he witnessed himself. Some wolves had pulled down a deer, when two Golden Eagles came down on them from a vast height, attacked the wolves, killed two of them, and pulled their livers out. This is a sport I confess I would have liked to haye been present at. ) H 58 BIRDS OF INDIA. Length of a female 33 to 35 inches; extent 73 feet ; wing 29 inches; tail 13; tarsus 4; mid toe and claw 3,6; bill at gape 22; height 14. A. male measured 30 inches; extent 6 feet ; wing 24 inches ; tail 12; tarsus 3}; mid toe 3. The bill is proportionally longer and weaker than in Chrysaetos, the tarsus is feebler, and the toes and claws much smaller ; the wings reach to the end of the tail, or almost surpass it; the nostrils are oval and somewhat oblique. The Imperial Eagle is rare in the South of India, but not un- common in the Table land, and in Central India, and is also found throughout the Himalayas. It prefers the neighbourhood of hills, and the bare open country, or thin and low jungle. It may fre- quently be seen seated on the ground, or on a stone on the top of a low hill, till an hour or two after sunrise, when it rises, apparently unwillingly, and takes a quest after game at no great elevation, hunting slowly over the bushy valleys and ravines, and occasion- ally over cultivated ground. If unsuccessful in its search, it re-seats itself, and after an interval again takes wing, and this time soars to a great height, circling slowly in the air, and traversing a large extent of country. It pounces on hares, florikins, rats, lizards, and various other mammals and birds, and in default of these, will eat carrion. I have several times seen one captured in a net by a portion of the carcase of a sheep being put down as bait. When it does condescend to partake of carrion, it allows no other bird to approach till it has satisfied its hunger. T have seen this Eagle’s nest in a lofty tree in the Deccan. The egg is reddish white, with some red blotches and spots. figured in the first volume of the ‘ Ibis.’ I kept one alive at Jalna for some time. It was very tame, and appeared to prefer raw meat to any other kind of food, even to birds or animals, living or dead. It was very sluggish and inactive, even when urged by hunger; the only cry I heard it utter was a harsh croak. It used to drink a gulp or two of water after eating. Out of India, it is found in the South of Europe, North Africa, and Western and Northern Asia.. One is AQUILINZ. 59 28. Aquila nevia, GMEL. Falco, apud GMELIN—BuytH., Cat. 112—Horsr., Cat. 55— GouLD’s Birds of Europe, pl. 8—A. melanaetus, Sav.—A. clanga, Patu.—A. vittata, Hopes.—Kaljanga, H.—Bukayari Jiyadha, Beng.—WNella gedha, Tel., 2. e. Black Kite. THE SPOTTED EAGLE. Descr.—Adult, richly empurpled brown on the scapulars, inter- scapulars, and lesser wing coverts; the lanceolate feathers of the head and neck somewhat lighter brown, streaked paler, and the under parts generally lighter brown than the upper plumage; some larger and purer white spots on the greater wing coverts, and two white bars tipping the secondaries and greater coverts, as in A. imperialis; the tibial plumes similarly spotted: the under tail coverts, and generally the short tarsal plumes, are white, and the abdomen is more or less streaked with fulvous. Young birds are pale brown throughout, lighter beneath; and in the intermediate plumage the feathers are dark, centred with pale brown ; some have the plumage dark dull brown, with dingy white markings. Length of male 25 inches; wing 20; tail 10. A female was 28 Inches; wing 22; tail 11; tarsus 38; mid toe barely 3; bill at gape 21; height 4; cere, orbits, and feet dark yellow; irides deep brown: the wings reach to the end of the tail; nostrils very round. The Spotted Eagle is found throughout India in suitable places. It prefers the neighbourhood of cultivation, especially of wet paddy fields, or the vicinity of tanks and marshes in a well-wooded country. It is tolerably common in the Carnatic, and Malabar Coast; rare in the table land. It preys upon all sorts of birds or small animals that it can manage to pick up, squirrels, rats; also lizards and frogs. It has a wild clanging cry, compared by Pallas to the sound ‘jeb, jeb, jeb,’ which it frequently utters when perched on a hightree. It breeds ontrees. I have seen their nests, but did not procure the eggs. Blyth says it is common in the Bengal Sunderbunds. It is also found in the south of Europe, N. Africa, and Western Asia, and has been killed in England. 60 BIRDS OF INDIA. 29. Aquila fulvescens, Gray. Harpw., Ill. Ind. Zool. 2, pl. 29—A. punctata, GRay, HARDW. Ill. Ind.. Zool. 1, pl. 16—A. fusca, ditto ditto 2, pl. 27—A. vin- diana, Frankuin, P, Z. 8S. 1831—JErpon, Cat. No. 11—A. nevioides, apud BLiyTH, Cat. 111—and Horsr., Cat. 54— Wokhab, H.*— Dholwa of the Wagrees—Bursawul of the Yerklees—Alawa or Salwa, Tel.— Ali. Tam. THE TAwny EAGLe. Descr.—Young bird, light fulvous, brightest on the head and throat, changing to pale dingy brown on the back and scapulars, and to whitish yellow beneath, with dark shafts ; shoulders and lesser coverts pale whity brown; quills black; tail dusky, with faint dark bars. At a later stage the colour of the bird is uniform fulvous brown throughout (A. fusca). In an intermediate state, the abdomen is marked with fulvous streaks, and there are many specks and streaks of the same on the head and the back of the neck. The adult bird is tawny brown, with the head and throat dusky, or almost black; the feathers of the crown, and the neck hackles, tipped with pale brown; the wings, breast, and lower parts deep fuscous brown; the breast slightly speckled, and the belly and wings spotted more or less with light tawny brown; two light wing bars, and the tip of the tail also light. Irides hazel brown; cere deep yellow; feet yellow. Length of a male 25 inches; wing 19; tail 10. A female mea- sures 28 to 29 inches; wing 20 to 21; extent 5 to 5} feet; tail 11; tars. 3; mid toe and claw 3; bill at gape 24; height 1; weight 4ibs. The wings reach nearly to the end of the tail; the toes are stronger than in A. nevia, and the bill is also stronger and deeper. This Eagle was for some time considered identical with A. neviot- des, Cuvier, from Africa ; but that is a much larger and more robust bird than our Indian species. The Wokhab is more robustin form than A. nevia, and is quite a miniature of A. imperialis. It is * The name Wokhab is evidently derived from the Arabic, Ogab,which is the name given in Northern Africa to A. nevioides. AQUILINE. 61 found throughout the greater part of India, except the more moist and wooded portions. It is unknown on the Malabar Coast, and in Lower Bengal, and does not extend into the Indo-Chinese countries. It prefers the dry open plains, and cultivated land, especially if there are hills near. It is rather rare in the Carnatic, but very abundant in the Deccan, in Central India, and the upper plains of India above Monghyr. ‘Till an hour or two after sunrise it may be seen seated on the top of some tree, and in the very centre, and nearly concealed from view; after which it sallies forth, sailing about at a moderate height over the fields, valleys, and ravines, or circling high in the air with kites, vultures, and other birds of prey. It frequently enters cantonments and villages, and carries off chickens, ducklings, or other poultry. It feeds occasionally on hares, partridges, and other game; also on rats, lizards, snakes, and even insects; and will always descend to the fresh carcase of a sheep. It, however, subsists habitually by robbing kites, falcons, and other birds of prey of their earnings; and may often be seen pursuing a kite with great impetuosity, and always succeeds in getting the desired morsel. The Wokhab is very troublesome in hawking on this account, mis- taking the jesses for some prey, and pursuing the Falcon, some- times driving it back to the fist of the falconer, at other times frichtening it fairly and irretrievably away. For an interesting account of this Eagle pursuing a Falcon, vide, J. A.S., XV. 8. I once saw a pair of Wokhabs kill a florikin (Otis aurita) which I had put up, and at which I had slipped a Laggar. One of them made a swoop, and missed, the other instantly followed, and struck it to the ground; but ridimg up quickly, I prevented it from carrying the bird off, and secured it quite dead, with its back laid bare by the powerful hind claw of the Eagle. I have often had Wokhabs alive. One in particular got very tame. It used to snatch morsels from the Imperial Eagle kept along with it, to which the latter in general quietly submitted. It was avery noisy bird, frequently uttering shrill and wild screams. It had, moreover, a great share of cu- riosity, walking up to and carefully and thoroughly examining every new comer I placed in the same apartment. 62 BIRDS OF INDIA. The Wokhab builds on high trees, making a large nest of sticks, and laying two eggs, white, with a few reddish brown spots, from January to March. 30. Aquila hastata, Less. Morphnus, apud Lesson—BiytH, Cat. 113—Spizaetus, apud Horsr., Cat. 40—Spiz. punctatus, JERDON, Suppl. Cat. 20, bis— Limnaetus unicolor, Buytu, J. A. S, XII. 128—Jiyadha and Gutimar, H. in Bengal, the last word meaning Cocoon-destroyer. —Phari Tisa, H., of some Falconers. THe Lonc-LeGGeD EAGLE. Descr.—Adult, plumage above glossy hair brown, most of the feathers tipped with white; upper tail coverts barred with white; quills glossy purplish black; tail the same, obsoletely barred with dusky grey, and with a white tip; throat and breast unspotted brown; breast, abdomen, feathers of the leg, lower wing cov- erts, and under tail coverts, pale fawn or yellowish white, closely barred with brown; quills, and tail beneath, grey, mottled and barred with dusky. In some only the feathers of the hind head and back of the neck are tipped white, three distinct rows of spots on the wings, and the tertiaries broadly tipped with white ; in others the spots are still less developed. Young birds are much lighter brown; the tertiaries and secondaries barred and clouded with whitish and brown; the tail more dis- tinctly barred, and the lower parts, from the breast, streaked longitudinally with fulvous white. The cervical feathers are lanceolate, and the neck hackles are small. The bill is comparatively small; the tarsi somewhat long and slender; the wings reach to or surpass the end of the tail; cere and feet yellow; irides brown. Length of a female 264 inches; wing 19; tail 94; tarsus 4; mid- dle toe and claw, 3. A male measured 25 inches; wing 184; tail 9; bill at gape 24; height not 4. This small but handsome Eagle is comparatively rare. I only met with it in the South of India once or twice. It appears to be more common in Bengal, where it plunders birds’ nests, and also AQUILIN. 63 eats the cocoons of silk-worms. A specimen, shot by Mr. Frith in Mymensing, first attracted that gentlemen’s attention by the alarm which was manifested upon its approach to a large banyan tree, upon which were several of the deep and massive nests of the Sturnus contra, one of which it immediately proceeded to pull to pieces, to rob of its contents, in which operation it was shot. (J. A, S., XII. 128.) Horsfield places this bird as a Spizaetus, along with S. crista- tellus, but its whole structure and plumage are more truly aquiline, although aberrantly so, and it perhaps might form the type of a distinct sub-genus. The next species of Eagle | has been separated as a sub-genus, Hierartus, Kaup. It is barely separable from Aquila, and I shall merely give the characters of the group without adopting the name. Bill small, slightly curving from the base; commissure perfectly straight ; wings not reaching to the end of tail; tarsus short, stout; toes short; inner claw very large. These are birds of small size with a tendency to an occipital crest. The inner edge of the centre claw is somewhat dilated as in Pernis. 31. Aquila pennata, Get. Falco, apud GmMreLIn—Buiytw, Cat. 115—HorsF., Cat. 53— GouLp’s Birds of Europe, pl. 9—A. minuta, BrEam—Spizaetus milvoides, JERDON, Cat. 20, and Suppl. 20—Butaquila strophiata, Hopes.—Bagati Jumiz, H. of some, %. e., Garden Eagle; also Gilheri mar, 7. e., Squirrel-killer—Oodatal gedda, Tel., i. e., Squirrel Kite—Punja prandu, Tam., i. e., Field Kite. THE Dwarr EAGuLe. Deser.—Head and neck pale orange brown, the feathers lanceo- late, and streaked in the centre with dark brown; some of the feathers lengthened, entirely brown, forming a rudimentary crest ; a narrow superciliary stripe, and a band from the angle of the mouth below the ears, and a central stripe on the chin, dark brown; the rest of the upper plumage sepia brown; the middle wing coverts, and some of the scapulars, broadly edged with whitish brown, forming a conspicuous light band on the wings; tail dark brown, with a pale tip, the inner webs of the feathers barred 64 BIRDS OF INDIA. indistinctly; plumage beneath reddish brown, palest on the feathers of the tarsi, and the feathers streaked with dark brown. The young bird is white beneath, head and neck also with white edges to the feathers and the brown of the upper parts lighter, and the white markings on the wing more distinct ; the upper tail coverts also are whitish, and the tail distinctly barred on both webs. ‘There is ery generally a white shoulder spot at all ages, and the forehead is white in some; cere and base of bill yellow ; feet yellow; irides orange brown. Length, male, 21 to 22 inches; wing 16}; tail 8; female, 23 ; wing 17; tail 9; tarsus 2}; mid toe and claw 34; bill at gape 13; height not 2,—wings reach nearly to the end of the tail. This dwarf Eagle is found throughout India, frequenting groves of trees, gardens, and cultivated land.