THE EGYPTIAN VULTURE 21 



which the vultures assemble directly there is 

 anything in the way of carrion has been often 

 noticed : they will appear where a moment before 

 there was not one to be seen either on the 

 earth or in the blue vault. And this was at 

 one time regarded as one of the wonders of the 

 bird world ; but as is so often the case, more 

 exact knowledge rather reduces the marvellous. 

 The habit of vultures is to fly at a very great 

 height and to keep circling round ; each bird prac- 

 tically keeps to one area, another takes a great 

 sweeping circle adjoining ; and others all the way 

 round are in the same fashion, ever circling on the 

 look-out. The moment one discerns anything down 

 he swoops ; this is instantly observed by the bird on 

 the adjoining beat, and down he rushes ; this again 

 is repeated indefinitely, and so in a few minutes a 

 dozen or more vultures may be there at the find 

 where before were none. The circles that each make 

 are frequently very large, perhaps many miles ; 

 it can easily be imagined, therefore, what a large 

 area can be covered, and covered most minutely, 

 by, say, half a dozen birds. The young are very 

 different in plumage, being a rather dirty grey- 

 brown all over, with brown eyes, and they retain 

 this peculiarity till their fourth year, when they get 



