A VES— VULTURE. 427 



quency, but never in great abundance, in the Pyrenees, the Alps from Pied- 

 mont to Dalmatia, the mountains of Ghilan and Siberia, and those of Egypt 

 and Abyssinia; occupying everywhere the loftiest and most inaccessible 

 cliffs, and frequently committing dreadful ravages in the neighboring plains. 

 In size it is the largest of European birds of prey, measuring, when fully 

 grown, upwards of four feet from beak to tail, and in the expanse of its wings 

 no less than nine or ten. M. Fortis indeed asserts that he had seen an 

 individual in Dalmatia, the expanded wings of which measured twelve feet. 



The general color of the upper part of this remarkable bird is a dull brown 

 with a mixture of gray; its wings and tail are of a grayish ash color; the 

 upper part of its head is a dirty white ; a black band extends backwards 

 from the base of the beak across the eye, and joins a narrower stripe of the 

 same that passes upwards to unite with its fellow on the back of the head ; 

 and the neck, breast, and under parts are white with a shade of reddish 

 brown or orange, which is deeper on the breast and throat, and gradually 

 becomes less distinct on the abdomen and legs. For the first two years, the 

 young birds are distinguished by the dusky brown of the head and neck ; the 

 mottled gray of their under surfaces, the large white spots, or spots of a 

 lighter shade, scattered over their back and wings; and the dusky black of 

 their quill feathers. Their iris is at first brown, and their toes of a livid 

 color ; but as they advance in age the former becomes of a bright red, and 

 the latter assume a leaden hue. At all times the beak, which attains a 

 length of four inches, is of an ashy gray with a flesh colored tinge ; and t' e 

 bristles at its base are deep black, as are also the talons. 



In its habits this bird combines the audacity and cruelty of the eagles, 

 with the appetite for carrion which distinguishes the vultures. It seizes by 

 preference living victims, chiefly quadrupeds, and especially those which are 

 incapable of making an effectual resistance, such as rabbits, hares, sheep 

 and lambs, or even young goats and calves ; and thus proves an extremely 

 dangerous neighbor to the peaceful flocks which graze on the declivities of 

 the mountains inhabited by it, or in the intervening valleys. Sometimes, 

 when rendered desperate by a long fast, it is said to attack the chamois, or 

 even man himself, choosing for the scene of its exploits the brink of a preci- 

 pice, and descending upon its victim with such an irresistible impetus as to 

 precipitate him headlong into the abyss below. But such bold attempts as 

 this, although spoken of by many writers, are foreign to its usual habits, 

 and may rather be regarded as traditions handed down from generation to 

 generation, than as common or every day occurrences. In the same manner 

 it is probable that the stories current in the Alps, of children carried off by 

 vultures to be devoured, are rather the expression of a natural dread of what 

 might happen, than a relation of actual events. We are not aware of any 

 authentic testimony in proof of the fact, which may therefore be classed 

 with the narratives of the same description with reference to the condor. 



