12 
fell, as did the smaller birds, nor did they appear to be in the 
least affected. A medical officer at Dehra told me he had 
observed the same in regard to the Adjutant above mentioned. 
The natural way to account for this is, the power of such foul 
feeders to resist the effects of things that would poison most 
other animals ; feeding as do the vultures upon the most putrid 
and disgusting substances, they may be said habitually to feed 
upon poison. I found, however, that deer, such asthe Kakur and 
Goral, which are any thing but foul feeders, could eat poisoned 
bread without being affected by the drug, so that the matter 
seems to require further investigation. Aguile Imperiales do 
not touch the putrid entrails in which the vultures delight, but 
confine themselves to the solid and non-poisonous flesh, so that 
they might well be supposed not to possess the same power of 
resisting poison rubbed into their food.” 
No. 3. Gyps Fulvus, Guet. 
Be (Gyps Himalayensis, nobis.) 
Tue Grirron.* 
The large Himalayan Vulture, which Dr. Jerdon and Mr. 
Blyth identify with Fulvus of Europe and Africa, and which 
I provisionally (vide infra) designate as Himalayensis, breeds in 
January, February and March. The nest, a huge platform of 
sticks, (at times the property in past years of some eagle or 
falcon, which the early nesting vultures have seized upon, long 
before the rightful owners have even begun to think of their 
annual matrimonial duties,) is placed, I believe invariably, on 
a rocky ledge of some bold precipice in the Himalayas, at least 
3000 feet above the sea. IJ have never yet heard of their nest- 
ing on trees. Though generally gregarious in their breeding 
habits, large numbers rarely appear to breed together. Six is 
the greatest number of nests I have yet known of, in one single 
locality. In this respect, they differ from G. Indicus, of which 
usually from 10 to 30 pairs breed close alongside each other. 
The bird lays a single egg; as mdeed a// true Vultures here 
invariably seem to do. 
The eggs of this species, are larger than those of any of our 
other Indian Vultures. The two I have, both of which I owe 
to Captain Cock are ovals: the one a rather long, and the 
other a broad oval. The texture of the shell appears coarser 
* Should the Himalayan species prove distinct, it should be called the 
** Himalayan Griffon.” 
