Z. GTP9. O 



b'". Smallest ; under surface entirely creamy 



white kolbi, p. 8. 



b'. Feathers of lower back and rump not paler- 

 centred, brown with broad fulvous tips .... ruepijclli, p. 9. 

 b. Cere exceeding in length the height of bill ; lower 

 back and rump whitish, with a faint margin of 

 pale brown on each feather indicus, p. 10. 



After a lengthened study of the Griifon Vultures I have come to 

 the conclusion that there are only five distinguishable species. 

 O. indicus is at once separated by its unusually hare head and 

 thin bill ; but the remaining species are more difficult to define. 

 O. riieppelU when fully adult is unmistakable, hut when young 

 more nearly resembles the other Griffons. G. Icolhi is characterized 

 by its light and almost uniform coloration, and looks much more 

 distinct when seen alive side by side with the true G. ftdvus ; and 

 G. hhncdayensis is a large edition of G. kolbi, but is further remark- 

 able for its brown-coloured young. The true G. ftdvus (that is to 

 say, the bird best agreeing with Albin's plate on which Gmelin 

 founded his species) seems to be the Vulture from Eastern Europe, 

 extending westwards as far as Sardinia ; for the types of G. occiden- 

 talis, Schl., which I saw recently in the Leiden Museum, agree with 

 the Dalmatian specimens. In Spain and Algeria, however, the 

 Griffons are smaller and more rufous, and approach the Indian birds 

 which Mr. Hume has named G. fulvescens. Taking, therefore, the 

 three birds mentioned as subspecies of one well-marked form, we 

 can separate them as follows . — 



a. Crop-patch dark brown. 



a'. General colour pale ashy fulvus. 



b'. General colour rufesceut fulvescens. 



b. Crop-patch tawny, like rest of plumage hispauiolensi^. 



Amidst the variations of plumage, however, it appears to me to be 

 difheult to draw an exact lino between these three subspecies. 



1. Gyps fulvus. 



The \'ulture, Alhiii, N. II. Birds, iii. p. 1, pi. 1 (1740). 



Le Vuutour fauvo, Briss. Oni. i. p. 402 (1700). 



Le Percuoptere, Buf. PI. Enl. i. pi. 420 (1770). 



Le Gritibn, Buff. Hist. Nat. Ois. i. p. 158, pi. v. (1770) 



Le Vautour, Buff. Hist. Nat. Ois. i. pi. v. (1770, plate only). 



Fulvous Vulture, Lath. Gen. Si/n. i. pt. 1, p. 17 (1781). 



Vultur fulvu.s, Gin. S. N. i. p. 240 (1788, e.v Lath.) ; Temm. Man. i. 



p. 7 (1820) ; Gould, B. Eur. i. pi. 1 (18.37) ; Schl. ti. Susein. Vog. 



Eur. p. 12, pis. 3, 3rt (18.39) ; Naum. Voq. Dmtschl. xiii. Taf. 338 



(ISCO) ; Finsch, Tr. Z. S. vii. p. 190 (1870) ; Finsch 4'- Hartl. Vbtj. 



Odafr. p. 31 (1870). 

 Vultur percnopterus, Shaw ^- Nodder, Nat. 3Iisc. iv. pi. 141 (1793). 

 ^'ldtur trencalos, Bechst. Naturr/. Deutscld. ii. p. 491 (1805). 

 Gyps vulgaris, Sav. Stjst. Ois. iVEgypte, p. 232 (1809). 

 Vultur leucocephalu.s, Meyer u. Wolf, Taschcnb. i. p. 7 (1810). 

 Vultur persicus, Ball. Zooyr. Rosso-As. i. p. 377 (1811). 

 Vultur vulgaris, Bonti. et'Vieill. Enc. Mith. iii. p. 1170 (1823). 



