46 BULLETIN 15 3, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



13-14, 20 birds recorded ; Turturo, June 15-17, 40 seen ; Anole, June 

 17, 20 seen ; Wobok, June 18, 50 birds ; near Saru, June 19, 20 birds ; 

 Yebo, June 20, 20 seen ; Karsa Barecha, June 21, 50 noted ; Malata, 

 June 22, 50 birds; Chaffa villages, June 23-25, 100 birds observed; 

 Hor, June 26-30, 25 seen ; dry river south of Hor, July 1-2, 25 seen ; 

 Dussia, July 3-4, 25 ; Lake Eudolf and country to the southeast for 

 25 miles, July 5-12, 370 individuals noted ; Indunumara Mountains, 

 July 13-18, 350 seen ; plains at base and south of Endoto Mountains, 

 July 19-24, 200 birds; Er-re-re, July 25, 100; Le-se-dun, 26 July, 

 100 ; Malele and country to the south for 45 miles, July 27-30, 160 ; 

 Northern Guaso Nyiro River, July 31 to August 3, 80 seen ; Lekiundu 

 River, August 4-8, 40 birds ; Meru and Kilindini (Equator) , August 

 9-10, 14 seen; Tharaka District, August 12, 4 noted; Tana River, 

 August 20-26, 30 seen; Thika River, August 26-27, 20 birds; 

 west of • Ithanga Hills, August 28, 10 seen; Athi River, August 29 

 to September 1, 55 birds; Escarpment, September 4, 1 bird seen. 



At Bodessa, Mearns made the following entry in his notes about 

 this bird : 



Comes in flocks whenever a mule dies or a bullock is slain for food for the 

 Hawash men, but does not remain about waiting for small bits of food like the 

 smaller vultures. It can tear open the tough skin of a mule quite easily with- 

 out waiting for It to decay and burst open. In this it is assisted by the Emin 

 Hawk-Eagle {Aquila rapax raptor) ; but the two species of small vultures 

 stay away until the others have fed and content themselves with the leavings 

 and small bits picked up about the camp. Within an hour of the death of a 

 mule or the butchering of a bullock the white-backed vultures come and as- 

 semble in a big flock; when full of meat they sit in flocks on the larger trees 

 near by, but they soon clean the carcase of a mule, and then disappear. 



He found this species common at Adis Abeba, December 26 to 

 January 7, and similarly numerous along the Hawash River, Janu- 

 ary 26 to February 13. 



TORGOS TRACHEUOTUS NUBICUS (H. Smith) 



Yultur nubicus H. Smith, in Griffith's An. King., vol. 1, p. 1G4. 1829 : Nubia. 



Specimens collected: 



Male, Arussi Plateau, Ethiopia, February 20, 1912. 



The northern form of this vulture lacks the ear lappets which are 

 present in birds from further south. 



The specimen collected is fully adult, but quite small. It has a 

 wing length of only 748, a tail of 401, and a culmen (from the cere) 

 of 68 millimeters. Swann ^^ gives the wing measurements for the 

 species (both sexes) as 747-785 millimeters. A subadult male (with 

 whitish down on the head) from Rhino Camp, West Nile, is slightly 

 larger than the present specimen, having the following measurements : 



■^8 Synopsis of Accipitres, ed. 2, 1921, p. 10. 



