120 Allen's naturalist's library. 



The Griffon is an early breeder, and begins to repair its 

 nest in January, laying towards the end of February or in 

 March. 



Nest. — Composed principally of sticks, and placed on a 

 ledge of an almost inaccessible rock, or in a hole or cave. 



Eggs. — One, occasionally two ; generally white without mark- 

 ings, but sometimes streaked or blotched with pale reddish- 

 brown. Some eggs are even handsomely marked with the 

 latter colour. Axis, 37; diam., 2*8. 



THE SCAVENGER VULTURES. GENUS NEOPHRON. 



Neophron^ Savigny, Syst. Ois. de I'Egypte, p. 238 (1808). 



Type, N. percnopterus (L.). 



The Neophrons are distinguished by their small size and 

 very slender bills, the nostrils being placed horizontally in the 

 latter. Four species of these Scavenger Vultures are known 

 to science, two of them white and two brown in colour. The 

 latter have the crop-patch feathered, and are confined to 

 Africa, one of them, N. pikatus, being found in the southern 

 part of the continent, and the other, N. monachus^ being an 

 inhabitant of North-eastern Africa and certain parts of 

 Western Africa. 



Of the two white Scavenger Vultures which have the crop- 

 patch bare instead of feathered, the one which is found in 

 Europe is the best known, and extends throughout the Medi- 

 terranean Region, being replaced in India by a closely-allied 

 form, N. ginginianus. 



I. THE EGYPTIAN SCAVENGER VULTURE. NEOPHRON 

 PERCNOPTERUS. 



Vultur percnopterus^ Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 123 (1766) ; Seeb. 



Hist. Br. B. i. p. 11 (1883). 

 Neophron percnopterus^ Macg. Br. B. iii. p. 166 (1840) ; 



Newton, ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 6 (1871); Sharpe, Cat. 



B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 17 (1874); Dresser, B. Eur. v. p. 39, 



pi. 322 (1879); B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 92 (1883); 



Saunders, IMan. Br. B. p. 303 (1889); Lilford, Col. Fig. 



Br. B. part xxiii. (1893). 



{Plate XLL) 



