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Show 20 MR. A. ANDERSON ON THE [J While the long, slender tarsi, diminutive bill, and more game-looking appearance of A. virgatus is sufficient to separate it from its plebeian ally Micronisus badius, the coloration of the upper plumage in the young birds of both species is very similar indeed, being what I should call the rufous-brown stage. All the feathers on the mantle are of a rich brown colour, tipped and edged with dark rufous, the edgings being broader in A. virgatus than in M. badius; the former differs also in having four broad caudal bands, while the latter has five or six narrow ones. The under plumage of the two juvenile birds is very different in A. virgatus: from the chin to the vent it is a rich buff colour (Jerdon calls it white), the feathers of the neck, breast, and abdomen having longitudinal drops of reddish brown; the flanks and tibial plumes are broadly barred with the same colour; in M. badius the underparts are white, each feather having a central stripe of brown. The plumage of the adult birds of both species differs in toto : the Darjeeling specimen has the head and back of a slaty black colour, the collar and tail being of a smoky brown; there are four caudal bands of the same hue as the head; the under plumage is white, broadly barred with bright ferruginous: the adult Shikra has the mantle of a light ashy grey ; and the underparts are minutely barred with rufescent or fawn-coloured marks. The bill in A. virgatus is very dark, almost black, the cere dark greenish yellow; in M. badius the bill is horny blue, and the cere yellow, without any green; the legs and feet in the former are greenish yellow, the back of the tarsi and soles being yellow; in the latter these are yellow without any tinge of green. The subjoined table of measurements of an immature male of each species will be found useful :- Foot, greatest greatest Species. Length. Wing. Tail. Tarsus, length, breadth. Accipiter virgatus Micronisus badius in. 10*5 12*0 in. 6*3 7*0 m. 5-3 60 m. 2*1 1*8 in. 2*6 2*6 in. 2*3 2*1 27. A Q U I L A M O G I L N I K , J. G. Gmel. (=A. crassipes, Hodg. MS.*). On the 8th of March last I procured a third example of the Eastern Imperial Eagle in the transitional stage, a huge female of the following dimensions:-Length 32*5; wing 23*5; tail 13; expanse 7 feet; tarsus 4*2, thence to end of mid claw, along the curve, 4*1, outer claw as above 3*2, inner claw 3*8, hind claw 3*6 ; expanse of foot (length) 6*5, (breadth) 5*5 ; bill along curve 3; height of both mandibles at base 1*2, width at gape 2*2. Weight just over 9 lb. This specimen, while yet in the striated stage, has several rectrices of the adult bird, and the breast has assumed a black-brown appearance in patches. In the course of a very short time this bird would have become exactly similar to No. 4 of Mr. Dresser's series (see his * Cf. 'Ibis' for 1873 p. 99. |