63 



H. B. Tristram, in the " Ibis," p. 282 :— "This bird is a con- 

 stant resident in the Sahara, though in very limited numbers, 

 while the Griifon breeds thi-oughout the Atlas, the Nubian 

 seems to resort to more southern ranges for his eyrie. There 

 is a breeding, place in the south-west of Bishra, in some lofty 

 isolated cliffs ; and another near the stupendous gorge of El 

 Kantara." On the other hand, I have been favoured by Mons. 

 Jules Verreaux with the following accoimt of the nidifieation 

 of the Oricou Vulture in a very different locality : — " It makes 

 its nest on immense bushes (the top of which it entirely covers) 

 of branches and twigs, lined with a thick layer of the excre- 

 ments of cattle or other animals. We visited ten of these nests 

 in the immense plain on the banks of the Great Elephant Eiver. 

 * * * The egg of the Oricou is of a chalky wliite, sprinkled 

 with larger spots." The proceedings of the Zoological Society 

 for 1853 contain, the following remarks on the same subject, 

 from the pen of Dr. Andrew Smith : — " The belief that several 

 pairs build theii* nests together (whence the appellation of 

 Sociable Vulture has been derived) is erroneous, for Dr. Smith 

 has never met with more than one nest actually occupied upon 

 the same tree ; the eiTor has, probably, originated in a new 

 nest being occasionally built adjoining to an old one which had 

 become imserviceable. This bird seems but little disposed to 

 sociability, rarely more than two are seen together, and if four 

 occur in the vicinity of a carcase, the number is considered 

 great." An egg of this vulture, brought from Northern Africa, 

 and figured in the proceedings of the Zoological Society for 

 1853, is there represented as having a white ground, but 

 thickly marked with irregular blotches of various shades of 

 brown, especially towards the larger end. Another egg, laid 

 in captivity, by a specimen in my possession, is white with a 

 thick cluster of rufous markings round the larger end ; the tint 

 of rufous being very similar to that on a highly-colom-ed Golden 

 Eagle's egg. The sides of the egg are also partially clouded 

 with a veiy faint tinge of rufous. The longitudinal circumfer- 



