carelessly constructed, is flat, and ornamented with green branches. The egg--for there is usually but one--is either oval or round; the shell is white, with pale blueish grey, reddish brown, or yellow spots, more or less distinctly laid on; some are prettily adorned with a wreath of spots round the centre. The female sits for three weeks, and, should she be driven from her charge, perches upon the nearest tree and utters pitiful cries; the young are tended by both parents, and fed principally upon small reptiles; if taken from the nest they are easily tamed. * * * * * The DWARF EAGLES (_Hieraëtos_) are the smallest members of this family, and have received the name they bear on account of the shortness of their legs; the two species we are about to describe closely resemble each other, and are about one foot and a half long, and three feet seven inches broad; the wing measures thirteen inches and three-quarters and the tail seven inches and a quarter. The female is one inch and a half longer and about three inches broader than her mate. THE BOOTED EAGLE. The BOOTED EAGLE (_Hieraëtos pennata_) is yellowish white upon the brow, and striped upon the top of the head with a darker shade; the nape is reddish brown, the mantle and wings blackish brown, each feather having a light edge, and thus imparting a mottled appearance to the back and surrounding the wings with two indistinct borders; the shoulder is marked with a white spot; the upper sides of the tail-feathers are dark brown, with a light tip, the lower part is pale grey; the feathers on the lower portions of the bird are light yellow, with brown lines upon the shafts; these lines are broadest upon the breast, gradually decreasing until they are scarcely visible upon the hose; in some old birds these dark markings are only visible upon a small part of the breast; the eyes are of a pale bronze tint, the beak light blue at its base and tipped with black, the feet lemon yellow, and the cere straw colour. The young are of a pale rust red upon the lower part of the body, but in other respects resemble their parents. The nestlings are brown above, and reddish yellow beneath; the shafts of the feathers are not striped, and there is no white upon the shoulder. THE DWARF EAGLE.