250 Mr. R. Schomburgk on the King of the Vultures. 



the cere is of a bright orange colour, and continues towards 

 the cheeks, where it takes a blueish hue. The beak is from 

 the margin of the cere for the extent of a few lines of a deep 

 black colour, and from thence it is red to its point. The ridge 

 of the upper mandible is surmounted by a fleshy caruncle of 

 red colour, which the bird can elevate at will or allow to hang 

 over the beak. From the base of the lower mandible arises 

 a naked skin of orange colour, which stretches towards the 

 lower part of the throat, surrounding likewise the fore and 

 hinder part of the head, the cheeks and ears, appearing as a 

 wrinkled skin which might be almost called warty, and which 

 is covered with black hairs. These are much thicker from the 

 regions of the eyes towards the sinciput, and continue along 

 the cervix to the nape, where there is a raised integument ; 

 as the crown is almost bare, the head might be compared to 

 the tonsure of a monk. The wrinkled skin possesses a blueish 

 hue, and contrasts strongly with the bright orange of the 

 neck. The eyes are surrounded by a red skin ; the iris is of 

 a pearly white, which is still more set off by the jet black pu- 

 pil. Below the nape, the neck is encircled by a ruff of long 

 soft feathers of a deep ash colour, which partly covers the 

 breast, and as one half of the feathers are directed upwards 

 and the other towards the shoulders and breast, the down of 

 these feathers becomes visible and forms a white ring in the 

 centre of the ruff. The interscapular regions, the scapulars, 

 and coverts are cream colour with a roseate hue ; the other 

 wing feathers, the rump, and the tail are deep black; the breast, 

 belly, and thighs white. The wings reach nearly to the end 

 of the tail ; the second and third quill are the longest ; the 

 tail is rounded at its extremity. The legs are robust ; the 

 tarsus reticulated, with three toes before and one behind ; 

 warty beneath ; the talons bent and an inch long. The mid- 

 dle toe is the longest and united to the extreme one at the base. 



The female is somewhat larger than the male, and of a uni- 

 form black, with the exception of the feathers under the wing, 

 which are white. The caruncle is of less size than that of the 

 male, and not of that intense black as the feathers ; this is 

 likewise the case with the naked skin about the neck. 



In appearance the king of the vultures is one of the most 



