96 FAUNA AND FLORA OF PALESTINE. 



' As swift as the eagle flieth ' (Deut. xxviii. 49). 'As the eagle that 

 hasteth to eat ' (Hab. i. 8). Its power of sight, ' She dwelleth and 

 abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place. 

 From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off' (Job 

 xxxix. 28, 29). Its nesting in the cliff, ' O thou that dwellest in the 

 clifts of the rock, that boldest the height of the hill, though thou shouldest 

 make thy nest as high as the Eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, 

 saith the Lord ' (Jeremiah xlix. 16). 



The range of the Griffon Vulture is most extensive. It is found in the 

 whole of Europe from the Pyrenees and Alps southwards, in Southern 

 Russia, through all Asia south of the Altai range, to India and Burmah, 

 and throughout Africa down to the Cape of Good Hope. 



191. Neophron percnopterns. (Linn. Syst. Nat. i., p. 123 (1766).) 

 Egyptian Vulture, Pharaoh's Hen. Hebr. DPI'I. (A. V., Gier Eagle.) 

 Arab. -It.^, Racliam. 



This feeder on filth and offal is universally spread over the whole 

 country in summer, but never seen in winter. It does not breed, like the 

 Griffon, in colonies, but is scattered abundantly and almost equally over 

 all parts of the country, returning from the south about the end of March. 

 It is tame and fearless, and is found in pairs, hanging about the neigh- 

 bourhood of man, whether in the Fellah village or the Bedawin camp. 



The nests, huge clumsy structures of sticks, are generally in the 

 lower parts of the cliffs, and easily accessible, in this respect differing very 

 decidedly from the Griffon's. The birds in the brown plumage of the 

 first year are rarely seen in Palestine, and probably do not migrate from 

 the south. 



The range of the Egyptian vulture extends from the south of France 

 eastward to Western India, but it is only a straggler north of the Alps 

 and the Caucasus. It is found throughout the whole of Africa and its 

 islands down to the Cape. The Indian species is very closely allied to 

 it, and has often been identified with it. 



