Birds. 951 
throat, and middle of breast, covered with short, bristly, grey- 
brown feathers ; rest of throat, sides of neck, and upper part 
of cervix, with fine whitish down, and bristles resembling those 
of the head. Skin, as seen through these coverings, between 
livid blue and purple ; lower part of neck behind with a frizzy 
ruff of short white feathers ; plumage of upper and under parts 
white, or a pale blossom colour; primary quill feathers black ; 
secondaries greyish, shaded with black towards their shafts ; 
tail rounded, and composed of fourteen black feathers, tinted 
with grey. Bill, legs, and toes, livid blue, with shades of 
dirty green ; claws black; eyes light yellowish red. Length 
from three feet to three feet six inches ; breadth from tip to tip 
of wings, about eight feet. Young specimens are more or less 
variegated with dull brown. 
Vultur Kolbii, Lath. Ind. Ornith, Supp. vol. i. pl. 10. Le 
Chassefiente, Le Vaill. Ois. @ Afrig. pl. 10 (young.) White 
Ass-vogel of the Cape Colonists. 
Vultur auricularis. Bill strong; tip of upper mandible yel- 
low ; rest of that, and the lower greenish yellow or horn-colour; 
cere bluish ; eyes dark brown ; skin of head, and unfeathered 
portion of neck, vermilion or livid purple, with white variega- 
tions ; the head thinly covered with a brownish white down and 
some black hairs; the neck bare, or with a still more scanty 
covering of the like materials; and on each side thereof a thin 
fold of loose skin, extending downwards and forwards several 
inches below the ears, usually about one inch in breadth, and 
similar in colour to the head. Throat, and middle of breast, 
covered with fine short black feathers; back of neck with a 
ruff of long narrow coarse brownish feathers, many of which 
are turned forwards; lower part of cervix, back, and shoulders, 
dark brown, many of the feathers margined with a lighter tint ; 
quills and tail black, the latter consisting of twelve feathers. 
Under parts brownish black, the feathers long, narrow, some- 
what. curved, broadly edged with white towards their bases, 
narrowly with dirty light brown elsewhere; thighs with a 
few brownish feathers on their outer sides, but their principal 
covering is a fine reddish brown down; legs and toes pale 
bluish, with a tinge of green; claws dark horn-coloured, in- 
clined to black. Length about three feet four or six inches ; 
expanse of wings ten feet. 
Inhabits Africa. 
Vultur auricularis, Shaw, Zool. vol. i. p. 24. L’ Oricou, 
Le Vaill. Ois. d’Afrig. i. pl. 1. Black Ass-vogel of the Cape 
Colonists. 
Vultur Galericulatus. Temm. Brow-black; wing coverts 
varied according to the age with brown, yellow, and whitish ; 
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