AQUILA NA3VIA.
Spotted EagTe.
Falco navius et maculatus, Gmel. edit. Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. i. p. 258.
Aquila ncevia, Meyer, Taschenb. Deutschl. Vog., tom. i. p. 19.
pomarin.a, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl., tom. i. p. 27.
planga, Vieill. Ency. M6th. Ora., part iii. p. 1190.
bi/asciata, Horasch.
melanaetos, Savig. Descr. de l’Egypte, Hist. Nat., tom. i. p. 84.
— vittata, Hodgs. in Gray’s Zool. Misc., 1844, p. 81 ?
anatraja, Savi, Ora. Tosc., tom. ii. p. 22.
Spizaetus fuscus, Vieill. Nouv. Diet. d’Hist. Nat., tom. xxxii. p. 60.
A l t h o u g h the Spotted Eagle is one of the smallest members of its genus, it is in every respect a
true Aquila; and had it been a native o f the British Islands instead of an accidental visitor, it would
have been an important species in the Raptorial division o f our avifauna. In Mr. Rodd s useful
‘ List o f British Birds as a guide to the Ornithology of Cornwall,’ two instances are given of its
occurrence in that county in the following words:—
“ The capture of the first English example of this rare Eagle took place on the 4th o f December,
1860, in the easteni p art o f Cornwall, a t a large covert called Hawk’s Wood, the properly of Francis
Rodd, Esq., o f Trebartha Hall, adjoining the large moors between Hawk’s T o r and Kilmar, and not
very far from the well-known Cheese-wring. Hawk’s Tor and Kilmar Tor rank amongst the highest
hills in Cornwall, reaching in altitude from 1000 to 1200 fee t; the characters o f these hills and the
moors about them in every direction are exactly similar to those on Dartmoor; in fact, the range
is a continuation o f the great granite tract extending, with some few interruptions, to the Land’s-end.
The bird was first observed in a tree, from which, on the approach o f the shooting party, instead of
soaring, it shuffled down, and scrambled under some ro ck s; its condition was beyond the average of
birds o f prey, large masses of fat encircling the gizzard, which, on dissection, was entirely empty; one
of the wing-bones was broken, but whether with shot o r otherwise I could uot determine; the body,
wings, and every part of the bird exhibited the most perfect form; but probably the injury above
mentioned prevented it from taking flight. It was a male in the first year’s plumage, and weighed
4 lbs. 1 oz.
“ A second example, almost in a similar state of plumage, was killed near Carnanton, in November,
1861; it is how in the Truro Museum,” whence it was kindly sent up to London for my u se; and
my best thanks are here offered to Dr. Barham and the Council of the Royal Institution of Cornwall
for the service they thus rendered to the present work. I t will be seen by the hinder figure how
much the young and adult differ in plumage. No other species o f Aquila, in fact, offers so great a
contrast, the livery in the latter state being nearly uniform in colour, while the other is so much
marked and ornamented. I t is somewhat strange that this continental species should have visited
one o f our southern counties, while, according to Mr. Rodd, the Golden Eagle, a bird which commonly
breeds in Scotland, should never have been seen th ere ; it forms another instance in exemplification
o f the western movement o f Continental species.
Although I have given precedence to the English-killed specimens of the Spotted Eagle, I must
not fail to state that a place in our avifauna was first assigned to it by Mr. Yarrell in the supplement
to his 4 History o f British Birds,’ where he says, “ F or the particulars o f the occurrence of this interesting
addition to the ornithology o f the British Islands, I am indebted to Mr. Robert Davis, jun., of Clonmel.
“ This specimen,” observes Mr. Davis, “ was shot on the estate of the Earl of Shannon, and was a t the
time in a fallow field devouring a rabbit. Another bird similarly marked, but reported to be o f a lighter
shade of brown, was shot a t the same place within a few days, but unfortunately was not preserved ; both
had been noticed during the two previous months, sweeping over the low grounds in the neighbourhood,
which is near Youghal, and between Castle Martyr aud Clay Castle.”
The proper home of the Aquila ncevia is the southern and eastern countries of Europe, North Africa,
Asia Minor, Palestine, and probably Western In d ia ; I say probably, because the bird inhabiting the Indian
Peninsula has by some writers been considered distinct; but Mr. Blyth, no mean authority, believes
in their identity, and says the bird is also abundant in the Himalayas, and in the wooded and watery
portions of Central apd Southern India.