Order ACCIPITRE8. 



Family YULTURID.5:. 



GYPS FULYUS (Gmelin). 



GRIFFOX-VrLTURE. 



Yultur fulYUS, Gmel. Sijst. Nat. i, p. 249 (1788). 



Gyps fulYUS, Gray, Gen. of Birds, i, p. 6 (18i4) ; MaUierbe, Fauiic Orn. 

 tie I'Alg. p. 5 (1855) ; Loche, Expl. Sci. Alg. Ois. i, p. 3 (1867) ; Koenig, 

 J. f. 0. 1888, p. 142 : id. .T. f. 0. 1892, p. 292 ; Whitaker, Ibis, 1895, 

 p. 103. 



G. hispaniolensis, Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. i, p. 6. 



Yultur (Gyps) kolbii, Malherhe, Cat. Eats. d'Ois. Alg. p. 5 (1846). 



G. fulYUS occidentalis, Erlanger, J.f. 0. 1898, p. 449. 



Description. — Adult male, spring, from Djebel Ressas, North Tunisia. 



Crown covered with stiff hair-lilie feathers of a creamy-white colour ; 

 neck covered with short white down ; a ruff of soft creamy-white downy 

 feathers at the base of the neck ; upper parts generally of a pale fulvous 

 earth-brown or stone-colour, darker on the mantle and back, and lighter 

 on the wing-coverts ; quills blackish-brown ; tail dull black ; under surface 

 warm rufescent-brown, the feathers with lighter centres. 



Iris bright hazel ; bill grey ; rather yellowish on the ridge of the culmen ; 

 cere verj- dark grey ; feet grey. 



Total length 45 inches, wing 29, culmen 3'50, tarsus 4. 



Adult female similar to the male, but rather smaller. 



Young birds are generally rather darker, and more rufous, particularly 

 on ihe crop patch, while the ruff round the neck is composed of lanceolate 

 feathers, and not of down, as in the adult. 



Observations. — The present species has been subdivided by Professor 

 Schlegel into two subspecies, Yultur /ulcus orientalis and Yultur fulvus occi- 

 dentalis, the Griffon-Yulture inhabiting North-west Africa being referred 

 to the latter. Dr. Sharpe's name of Gi/jis iiispaniolcnsis is also referable to 

 the North-west African bird, which does not differ from Spanish examples. 

 The characters, however, on which these distinctions have been based 

 appear to be extremely slender, and are not constant, or sufficient to justify 

 separation. Under the circumstances, therefore, I prefer to retain the 

 North-west African Griffon under the name of Gij2>s fulvus. 



