UGLIEST BIRD IN THE WORLD 281 



myself to come within a few feet of her and take a 

 photograph. Mr. William Jesse states that upon one 

 occasion, when he wanted to take the egg, the hen 

 vulture refused to budge, and had to be poked off the 

 nest with a stick. This behaviour is not altogether due 

 to the maternal instinct ; the bird is of a sluggish 

 disposition, shows little fear of men, and is easily tamed. 

 One of these fowls used to be kept as a pet in the 

 Madras Museum ; it recently died of paralysis. 



The young scavengers, when they leave the nest, are 

 sooty brown in colour, and in consequence are often 

 taken for members of a different species. Then, 

 gradually, white feathers show themselves, so that, 

 after a time, the birds have a speckled appearance. 

 Eventually they emerge resplendent in the adult plum- 

 age. Is this transition from dark to light the result of 

 sexual selection ? Can it be that the lady vulture has 

 taste in dress ; that dirty white is to her what the hues 

 of a sunset sky are to human beings ? 



We have, in conclusion, to regard the fowl in its 

 sacred aspect. The scavenger vulture is the last bird 

 around which one would have expected to see the halo 

 of sanctity, and I believe that I am right in saying that 

 the Hindus do not regard all scavenger vultures as 

 sacred, but merely a chosen few. These may be seen 

 at Conjeeveram, in the Madras Presidency, by those 

 who are not sinners. Those of us who are scathed by 

 the wickedness of the world may see, hanging up in 

 the Madras Museum, a photograph of the holy birds 

 being fed by a Brahmin. These birds are said to be 

 metamorphosed human beings. I forget their former 



