EGYPTIAN VULTURE. 1 
VULTUR PERCNOPTERUS. 
EGYPTIAN VULTURE. 
(Prats 1.) 
Vultur fuseus, Briss. Orn. i. p. 455 (1760). 
Vultur egyptius, Briss. Orn. i. p. 457 (1760). 
Vultur leucocephalos, Briss. Orn. i. p. 466 (1760) ; Gmel, Syst. Nat. i. p. 248 (1788). 
Vultur perenopterus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 123 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum— 
(Temminck), (Naumann), (Gould), (Gray), (Newton), (Sharpe), &e. 
Vultur alimoch, La Peyr. M. et Ois. de la H. Garonne, p. 10 (1799). 
Vultur stercorarius, La Peyr. loc. cit. (1799). 
Vultur albus, Daud. Traité d’ Orn. ii. p. 21 (1800). 
Neophron perenopterus (Linn.), Sav. Ois. de 1 Egypte, p. 16 (1810). 
Cathartes percnopterus (Linn.), Temm. Man. d’Orn. i. p. 8 (1820). 
Cathartes meleagrides (Pall.), Temm, Pl. Col. i. genre Catharte (1824). 
Vultur meleagris, Pall. Zoogr, Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 877 (1826). 
Percnopterus egyptiacus, Steph. Shaw’s Gen. Zool. xiii. pt. ii. p. 7 (1826). 
Neophron zegyptiacus (Steph.), Smith, S. Afr. Q. Journ. i. p. 16 (1829). 
At least three specimens of the Egyptian Vulture have been recorded 
from Great Britain; and two of these examples have been captured. In 
October 1825 two examples of this Vulture were seen near Kilve in 
Somersetshire ; aud one of them was eventually shot, and was obtained by 
the Rev. A. Matthew, who is quoted by Yarrell as follows :—“ When first 
discovered it was feeding upon the carcass of a dead sheep, and had so 
gorged itself with carrion as to be unable or unwilling to fly to any great 
distance at a time, and was therefore approached without much difficulty 
and shot. Another bird similar to it in appearance was seen at the same | 
time upon wing at no great distance, which remained in the neighbour- 
hood a few days, but could never be approached within range, and which 
was supposed to be the mate of the one killed.” The other instance was 
recorded in the ‘ Zoologist’ for November 1868, p. 1456, by Mr. C. R. 
Bree, as follows :—‘‘ On the 28th of September last the labourer who had 
charge of an off-hand farm of Mr. Woollard, of Stanway Hall, situated at 
Peldon, Essex, had been killing his Michaelmas geese. On going some 
time after into the yard where said geese had been slaughtered, he 
saw a strange bird feeding upon the blood. The bird flew away, and the 
man loaded his gun. Presently the bird came and hovered over the spot, 
in hopes of another spell at the blood ; but his fate was sealed, and he fell 
dead to the labourer’s shot. I saw the bird next day at the house of Mr. 
Ambrose, of this place, to whom it had been sent for preservation. Mr. 
Woollard has since kindly furnished me with the above information. As 
far as I know, this is only the second instance of the capture of Vultur 
percnopterus in Great Britain, the first having been shot on the shores of 
