LAMMERGEYER.— G,i/ji(ie(os tiartdtus. 



BIRDS OP PREY. VULTURES. 



In the arrangement of the various species of living creatures which possess a visible 

 organization, the greater or less perfection of the structure has formed the basis of 

 systematic classification. In a certain sense, however, the development of all animals is 

 equally perfect, inasmuch as it is most perfectly adapted to the necessities of the parti- 

 cular species or individual ; so that the term perfection is necessarily rather a conventional 

 one, and the systems of zoological arrangement are as various as their authors. By 

 common consent, however, the Vultures take the first rank among birds, and in the 

 catalogue of the British Museum, the Lammergeyer, or Bearded Vulture, stands first 

 upon the list. 



This magnificent bird is a native of Southern Europe and Western Asia, and often 

 attains a very great size, the expanse of its wings being sometimes as much as ten feet, 

 and its length nearly four feet. 



Before describing this species it may be as well to give a few of the distinguishing 

 points by which the Vultures may be separated from the eagles, hawks, and other 



