260 Mr. C. Babington on the British Species of Lotus. 



swallowed. He was not partial to entrails, and when they 

 were thrown before him, he would put his feet upon them and 

 relax immediately to his former stooping position. Before he 

 commenced attacking his food, he would turn his head and 

 look at it in a squinting way. His eyes were beautiful ; in- 

 deed I do not know an animal which could vie with those of 

 the king of the vultures ; the purest pearl is not whiter than 

 his iris. During rainy weather, and during a few days when 

 he was sick, he withdrew his neck completely in the ruff; it 

 even covered partly the head, leaving only the forehead and 

 the beak out. He could not endure the full heat of the sun ; 

 he panted and showed every sign of being uncomfortable. 



They are easily tamed if taken young. Mr. Glen in Deme- 

 rara had a female bird which was so tame that it would lay 

 itself before its master's feet ; and its power of recognition was 

 so great, that if it happened to be on the roof of the highest 

 house when Mr. Glen walked by in the street, it would de- 

 scend rapidly as an arrow, and lie down before his feet, as it 

 had been accustomed to do. I saw a full-grown male bird 

 which was brought from Surinam to Demerara ; it was per- 

 fectly tame, and was ultimately sold to the master of an En- 

 glish merchantman for the enormous price of twenty pounds 

 sterling. 



The Indians when we travelled with them never failed to 

 attract our attention to this bird when they discovered one 

 soaring in the air. The Maconsis call it Cassana, the Wape- 

 shanas Panaourou, the Warrows Wouraerepo. 



XXX. — On the British Species of Lotus. By Charles C. 

 Babington, M.A., F.L.S., F.G.S., &c. 



The British species of Lotus have now been the subject of 

 controversy for many years, some most eminent botanists con- 

 sidering all our plants to be referable to only two (cornicu- 

 latus and angustissimus), others supposing that they constitute 

 four, if not five distinct species ; but after a careful examina- 

 tion of numerous individuals, in their native localities, I have 

 come to the conclusion that we possess four quite distinct 



