NON-INDIGENOUS BRITISH BIRDS. 121 



larly zoned round the end with deep redd;sh-bro\vn spots. 

 Eggs are occasionally seen with one or two splashes or 

 blotches of very pale brown. It must be remembered, 

 however, that these marked eggs are very exceptional, 

 and represent a selection from vast numbers of the 

 normal type, which is colourless or nearly so. Average 

 measurement, 37 inches in length by 2*8 inches in 

 breadth. Incubation is performed chiefly by the female, 

 but the duration of the period is unknown. 



Diagnostic characters : The eggs of the Griffon 

 Vulture may be generally identified by the absence of 

 colouring matter ; the marked varieties, however, cannot 

 safely be distinguished from those of the Black Vulture. 

 It may be remarked that the latter species always nests 

 in a tree and the Griffon always on rocks. 



Family VULTURIDyE. Genus Neophron. 



EGYPTIAN VULTURE. 



Neophron percnopterus {Lm?imis). 



(British : Very rare abnormal autumn migrant.) 



Single Brooded. Laying season, April and May. 



Breeding area : South-western Palcxarctic region 

 and North-eastern Ethiopian region. The Egyptian 

 Vulture breeds in the mountains of the Spanish Peninsula, 

 the Pyrenees, the Alps, and the mountainous regions of 

 Southern Europe generally, especially those of Turkey, 

 Greece, and Asia Minor. Eastwards it breeds in the 

 Caucasus, Northern Persia, and Turkestan. South of 

 the Mediterranean it breeds in the Canaries, Madeira 



