NON-INDIGENOUS BRITISH BIRDS. 119 



Diagnostic characters: The eggs of the Eagle 

 Owl can only be confused with those of the Snowy Owl 

 in Europe. They are on an average slightly larger and 

 more globular, never also displaying any yellow tinge. 

 The breeding grounds of the two species do not impinge. 



Family VULTURID.-E. Genus Gyps. 



GRIFFON VULTURE. 



Gyps fulvus {Brisson). 



(British : Very rare abnormal migrant.) 



Single Brooded. Laying season, January to March. 



Breeding area : South-western Palaearctic region 

 and North-eastern Ethiopian region. The Griffon 

 Vulture breeds in the mountainous districts of the 

 Spanish Peninsula, in the Pyrenees, the Alps, the moun- 

 tains of Sardinia and Sicily, the Carpathians, the moun- 

 tains of Turkey, Greece, and Asia Minor, and in the 

 Caucasus and Southern Urals. Eastwards it breeds in 

 Persia and Turkestan ; whilst south of the Mediterranean 

 it is a common bird in Africa north of the Great Desert 

 from Morocco to Egypt, and southwards into Nubia. 



Breeding habits: Although the Griffon Vulture 

 wanders far and wide over the countries it inhabits, 

 during the nesting season it is practically confined to the 

 neighbourhood of precipices, the steep rugged slopes of 

 mountains and ranges of cliffs, especially those of a 

 limestone formation, and full of hollows and caves. 

 There can be no doubt that the Griffon Vulture pairs for 

 life, and continues to breed in one particular place for 



