6 
means difficult of access, and was about two miles distant from 
the immense colony of Griffons in the wady Hamoun.”’ 
The nest, however, is not always on rocks, nor does the egg 
appear to be always pure white or larger than that of the Griffon, 
as may be seen from the following extracts from a paper of Lord 
Lilford’s, which appeared in the Jbis for 1866. 
“The result this evening was, a nest with five eggs of the 
blue Magpie, and an egg of the cinereous vulture, which last, the 
boys assured me, they had found on the ground at a spot much 
frequented by this species, which breeds in the pine-forests close 
at hand, and is by far the most common vulture in the Castiles. 
This egg is shghtly smaller than those of Gyps Pulvus in my 
collection, and is of a uniform clouded reddish-pink colour, very 
much resembling some varieties of the egg of Aquila Chrysaetus. 
I have no hesitation in ascribing this egg to Vultur Monachus, 
as, although I was unfortunately too late to find the eggs in situ 
myself, the fragments of egg-shells found in and below several 
nests of this vulture, exactly corresponded with this specimen, 
and I found that Gyps Fuleus, of which species a few pairs used 
in former years to nest in a range of cliffs near the village, is 
now comparatively scarce in the district.” 
“The nest (of Vultur Monachus) was situated at the top of one 
of the tallest pines, and visible from some distance with the male 
bird seated close to it. He allowed us to approach almost to the 
foot of the tree, and sailed off apparently unhurt by a volley of 
our four barrels. Agapo was soon up to the nest, in which was 
a young bird of about the size of a Dorking-cock. A more un- 
sightly specimen of the great class Aves, I never before beheld, 
he was covered with brownish grey down, with a bright pink 
cere and very pale yellow legs and feet ; part of the trachea of 
a sheep or goat, perfectly hard and dry, completely encircled one 
leg ; and altogether his appearance presented a combination of 
the absurd and repulsive, almost impossible to describe. The 
nest was composed of large boughs externally, and was lined 
with twigs and a few fragments of wool. In the foundation of 
the nest, which was unusually deep for that of a raptor, a pair 
of tree creepers, (Certhia Familiaris), had established their abode, 
and were rearing a family of five or six young.” 
Further interesting particulars of this bird’s nidification, are 
given in Mr. C. Farman’s notes on the birds of prey of central 
Bulgaria, which appeared in the Jdis for 1868. He says “ In 
central Bulgaria, this is by no means a common species. I have 
noticed these birds only during the spring and summer, they 
certainly do not remain during the winter, and they are therefore 
(in some degree at least) migratory; nidification with this 
