JJifih of (hi' Afooii.'<(ad 1)1.^1 nrl . 43 



first and then the anus ; and the power of their beaks in 

 holding on to hvroe pieces o£ flesh is enormous. During the 

 " rinderpest " I saw them gorging themselves on carcases to 

 such an extent that they could onlj just waddle down to 

 water, have a drink, and then vomit everything up ; after- 

 wards returning to the carcase and gorging themselves 

 anain. I have eauoht them when so ooroed ; but although 

 one can pull their long wing-feathers and tail, one must 

 avoid tlieir beaks, as they turn with ferocity, and a bite 

 j'rom their powerful beaks — quite apart from the fact that 

 they feed on carrion, and the consequent danger of blood- 

 ])oisoning- — would be far from pleasant. I can remember a 

 case many years ago of a man in the Orange Free State 

 riding alone through the veld when his horse fell partially on 

 him and broke his leg. The horse ran away ; and the man 

 with his broken leg could naturallv not follow or catch the 

 horse, so had to lie still in the scorching hot sun. It was not 

 long before the Vultures began gathering round him, and 

 naturally his feelings were far from pleasant. He stayed a 

 day and a night in the veld ; and the following morning an 

 old Boer, seeing the Aasvogels in numbers, rode up to see 

 what was dead and found the man practically in a dying 

 state, but was just in time to rescue him from a cruel death. 

 This I had from tlie man himself, who said he would never 

 forget the agony he went through, unable to move, with 

 those huge birds watching all round him, waiting, as he 

 thought, to pick out his eyes. 



As far as 1 know, they build only in krantzes *, and their 

 great breeding-home is Aasvogel Kop, near Zastron, O.R.C. 

 I have never seen their nests in trees, like the Black Vultures' 

 ( Otogyps auricularis) . 



The expanse of wing is very large. One I shot near the 

 Vaal River measured over 7 feet from tip to tip of wing 

 spread out. They have some very pretty white downy feathei's, 

 which would be suitable for ornamental purposes ; but I 

 have never been able to eradicate the smell of carrion. 



•-■• [They are reportei.l iii iie.^tiuy iu trees iu the Tretoriii Di.itrict 

 Transvaal, — Edd.] 



