71 



dentally be thrown upon the shore. In South Africa it has 

 likewise been observed to feed upon locusts and small tortoises, 

 the latter of which it swallows whole. Mr. Ayres, of Natal, 

 informs me that when a number of these vultures have collected 

 about a dead bullock, after they have eaten the flesh fi-om one 

 side, they will all pull together and turn the carcase over to 

 eat the flesh fr'om the other side. 



It seems probable that many of these vultiu-es wander 

 from their usual haunts when attracted by accidental supplies 

 of food. The Eev. H. B. Tristram, writing in the " Ibis," 

 (vol. 1, p. 280,) respecting the present species, says, with 

 reference to the siege of Sebastopol, " the Arabs believe that 

 the vultures from all North Africa were gathered to feed on 

 Eussian horses in the Crimea, and declare that during the 

 war very few 'Nissr' wei'e to be seen in their accustomed 

 haunts." The Griffon Vulture usually places its eyrie on the 

 ledges of mountain precipices, several pairs fr-equeutly nest- 

 ing in the same locality. Monsieur Temminck states, however, 

 that in the island of Sardinia it nests " on the highest oaks of 

 the forests, where it constructs an eyrie of branches and roots 

 of more than three feet in diameter." This vulture usually 

 lays but one egg ; occasionally, however, a nest is found con- 

 taining two. The eggs are generally white, but sometimes 

 they are varied by markings of a reddish brown ; these mark- 

 ings, however, when they do occiu', are generally, though 

 not invariably, pale and faint. The habits of this vulture 

 are decidedly gregarious, and it frequently congregates in large 

 numbers. The iris in this species is hazel, the cere dark slate 

 colour ; the skin on the head and neck, the tarsi and the feet, 

 a blueish grey. 



This Yulture appears to be identical with the Sacred 

 Vulture of the ancient Egyptians, and its remains have been 

 found embalmed amongst the mummies of Thebes. It is fre- 

 quently represented on the monuments, sometimes in its natm-al 

 form, and sometimes with the head of a serpent instead of its 



