41 
all I can positively say upon the point however, is, that I have 
known the bird well in its native haunts for thirty years and 
more, and never once, in all that time, have I seen it 
stoop to anything but a dead carcase ; as to carrying off hens, 
dogs, lambs or children, I say the feat would be utterly 
impossible, for the creature does not possess the strongly 
curved sharp pointed claws of the Hagle, but the far straighter 
and perfectly blunt talons of the Vulture. Day after day, I 
have seen them sweeping by along the face of the hill like the 
wandering albatross at sea, and like it, ever in search of offal, 
and even that, when found, is not swept off the ground after 
the manner of the kite, but the bird alights upon it, as it would 
upon a bullock, and then, if the morsel is worth having, de- 
vours it on the spot, and again launches itself upon its wide- 
spread wings and sails away as before. ‘There is no sudden 
stooping upon a living prey as with the Falcon tribe, but its 
habits and manners in this respect are, as far as I have seen, 
entirely Vulturine. There seems to be some difference be- 
tween our bird and the Alpine one of Europe in the selection 
of a breeding-place ; for, while in the Alps, the bird is said 
to breed within the higher and more inaccessible mountains ; 
here at Mussooree, they frequent the outer and less solitary 
mountain glens, and often the immediate vicinity of a village ; 
yet never do the people complain of the loss of either lambs 
or fowls or attacks on children. Sometimes if a native finds that 
you are anxious to obtain information, he will at once, as in other 
matters, spin a yarn-clean off the reel without there being an 
atom of truth in it. This, however, must be regarded simply 
as one of the idiosyneracies of this intelligent people ! Not- 
withstanding the weight of authority against me! I still persist 
in regarding our bird as distinct from the Huropean G. 
Barbatus.” 
Mr. R. Thompson writes that ‘“ This species breeds from 
November to February, late in which latter month the young 
may sometimes be seen; it selects ledges of precipices, at 
elevations of 5,000 feet and upwards. ‘The nest, a huge plat- 
form, some four or five feet in diameter, is constructed of small 
sticks and thick twigs, placed so as to form a footing for the 
young, and is lined with pieces of cloth, rags, &e. I have fre- 
quently noticed parent birds with only a single young one 
following them, and I am inclined to think that they seldom 
rear more. 
“ T have been a close and constant observer of the habits of 
these birds for the last 12 years, and I confess I never saw 
the bearded Vulture attack or come down to a living animal 
