1921.] Birds of Tasso and adjoining Islands. 277 



*Grypohierax angolensis. Vultuiiiie Sea-Eagle. 

 A very common and cons})icaous Ijird, and much liked by 

 the natives for food. 



*Pandion haliaetus haliaetus. Osprey. 

 Seen several times at the southern end of the island, where 

 the natives have fish-traps. 



*Necrosyrtes raonaclms monachus. Hooded Vulture. 



Abundant in and around the village of Tasso. The dif- 

 ference between these Vultures and those of British East 

 Africa struck me as curious. We often shot Antelope and 

 lel't them in a tree or by the roadside, and they were never 

 molested ; whilst in British East Africa Vultures appear at 

 once when game is killed, and, if not carefully guarded, 

 soon commence to devour it. 



[An immature female specimen of this Vulture, nf). 5G2, 

 now in the British Museum, obtained by Mr. Lowe at 

 Murray town. Sierra Leone, on 27 April, 1920, is in very 

 peculiar " head dress." I have never seen any Vulture in 

 this state of plumage, and, as I can find no description of it 

 in any paper, I describe it as follows : — Skin of the head 

 immediately above the eye and below the eye absolutely 

 bare of feathers, the bare skin divided on the top of the 

 head by very short black feathers growing in tiny hair-like 

 tufts, these bkack feathers dividing and passing over the 

 base of the skull so as to completely encircle a pure white 

 fluffy tuft measuring 3« X 10 mm. Both the eyes and 

 the ears are surrounded with black hair-like feathers. The 

 hind neck, from the base of the occiput to the commence- 

 ment of the long feathers on the nape, is covered with close, 

 almost fur-like, buff-coloured feathers. The lower part of 

 the throat and the under sides of the neck are entirely bare 

 of feathers, and only the skin from the base of the lower 

 mandible for a distance of 5,5 mm. is covered with numerous 

 small black hair-like tufts. At the extreme base of the neck 

 on the under surface, and below the bare patch, there is a 

 patch of rather long dark brown feathers, dividing tlie bare 



