observed in Oudh and Kumaon. 225 



of the cold season. An egg, obtained in February 1859, was 

 rather rough on the surface, white in colour, with a few pale- 

 bluish spots on the larger end. This Vulture does not collect 

 in flocks like the two following species, seldom more than two or 

 three being seen together : it was seen occasionally in Kumaon 

 in May and June. I noticed another large Vulture in Kumaon, 

 which I imagine to have been V. monachus, but I could not 

 obtain one for examination. 



28. Gyps indicus. 



This species and the next are equally common throughout the 

 year. One was captured in a rather curious way at Alumbagh : 

 the Vulture had made a hole in a dead horse's belly, and poking 

 his head in, was caught before he could extricate himself. 



29. Gyps BENGALENSIS. 



30. Neophron percnopterus. (Egyptian Neophron.) 

 Found in great numbers near all towns and cantonments. 



Nests on trees in the cold season. Has the taste, in common 

 with pigs and adjutants {Leptuptilus argala), to prefer human 

 excrement to any other food. Was frequently seen in the valleys 

 of Kumaon, and is common at Nynee Tal and Almorah. This 

 Neophron is very seldom, if ever, seen at Calcutta; yet it is 

 common at Aden and at St. Vincent's, one of the Cape de Verd 

 Islands, both places being in a latitude south of Calcutta. 



31. Gypaetos barbatus. (Lammergeyer.) 



Common in Kumaon, especially near Almorah and Nynee Tal, 

 where it appears to feed almost exclusively on carrion. All Eu- 

 ropeans, not ornithologists, call it the " Golden Eagle," — pro- 

 bably on account of the reddish tinge on the breast, which is very 

 apparent when the bird is on the wing. 



The other species of Diurnal Raptores said to inhabit India 

 are : — 



1. Falco sacer. Nepal. 



2. F.peregrinus', or, if the Indian species be distinct, F. calidus. 

 India generally. 



3. F. ijeregrinator. India generally. 



4. Hypotriurchis severus. Bengal and Himalayas. 



