Sir R. H. Schomburgk on the Birds of Siam. 267 



were covered with hoar-frost. Amongst them were a number 

 of disgusting-looking Red-headed Vultures {Vultur calvus)" 



" January ^rd, 1860. — I never saw, during our journey pre- 

 vious, such a number of Giant or Adjutant Cranes {Leptoptilus 

 argala), Vultures, Pelicans, and Egrets, mixed with Scissor-bills 

 and Sea-Swallows, as on this day, all crowded on a sand-bank 

 that rose above the river. While approaching this assemblage 

 of birds in our canoes, the Pelicans were the first to take the 

 alarm, the Vultures the last. The Giant Cranes, before rising 

 on the wing, made first three or four hops, probably to give to 

 themselves the necessary impetus, in the same manner as I have 

 seen the Jabiru {Mycteria americana). I may note here that 

 I have frequently observed the Adjutant, while stalking on the 

 sand-bank, picking up gravel and swallowing it. The Jabiru 

 does the same." 



I have now done with my cursory notes on some of the birds 

 of Siam, except that I have to mention that bird so disgust- 

 ing in its appearance, the Carrion Vulture [Raing in Siamese, 

 Vultur calvus), much more so from the office assigned to him at 

 Wat Seked, the great cemetery of the city of Bangkok, namely, to 

 devour the flesh of those whose relations are not able to pay the 

 fees for cremation or interment, as also where the law or custom 

 does not permit burial. The corpses are thrown into an open 

 space surrounded by a wall, near which a number of these birds 

 have domiciled themselves. Formerly they had a scaffolding 

 within the precincts of this dismal place, where, when satiated, 

 they could rest and digest ; but this has tumbled down, and no 

 new one has been erected. The birds now take their rest upon 

 the numerous and handsome trees of the Ficus religiosa which 

 adorn Wat Seked, and are sadly disfigured by these slovenly birds. 

 Their sense of smell is really wonderful : scarcely is the breath 

 out of the animal when they assemble in numbers. In the case 

 of a sheep which died on my premises, ten or twelve soon occu- 

 pied the roof of the house ; but where they came from so suddenly, 

 this was the wonder to me ; for Wat Seked, their nearest abode, is 

 nearly a mile from the Consulate. Upon one occasion I saw the 

 carcase of an Elephant floating down the river and a number of 

 these birds sitting on it, tearing away the flesh. Mixed with 



T 3 



