428 The Bearded Vulture 
high overhead, at times dipping down and flying past the cliff At 
the end of an hour, one of them suddenly appeared carrying in its 
beak (zo¢ in its feet) a big black mass which looked like a portion 
of a black lamb and flew straight into a cliff about 1oo yds. from 
the nest I had descended to. Turning my glass on the spot, I 
saw to my astonishment a second huge nest which I had not 
observed on my first visit, doubtless because all my energies were 
concentrated on the birds and the nest they were then building. 
I instantly made up my mind that this new nest contained 
young and that on the occasion of our first visit I had gone to 
the wrong nest! So thought my companions and yet we had 
watched the birds flying in and out of the first nest and they had 
never shown any inclination to visit the second. 
My suspicions were strengthened by watching the great bird 
standing on the edge of the nest and judging from her movements 
and attitude apparently engaged in feeding her young. Presently 
she entered the nest and disappeared from view. Sitting no doubt 
on her young, said we. Some minutes later she rose and thrust 
her head out of the cavern and we could see clearly the fierce eye 
and the brilliant colouring of head and throat. Then she took 
wing and sailed away. 
Soon the other old bird returned and glided uneasily across 
the face of the cliff, evidently alarmed at our presence near its 
sanctuary, 
There was no necessity to watch any longer for there was 
nothing more we could learn of the contents of the nest save 
by actual inspection. 
And now as to the position of the new nest. It was in a small 
cavern apparently almost identical in size and shape with the first 
nest and in an almost exactly similar situation but apparently 
more accessible. From the point where the talus issued from the 
chasm ran two terraces, the first, the main terrace, was the one we 
