Ornithology of Sardinia. 147 



dirty white faintly tinged with pale lemon-colour. There 

 were two or three other nests close by, from which the young 

 birds had flown, suggesting the idea that this species is in the 

 habit of nesting in small parties. The nests can be easily 

 seen from a long distance by ascending the mountains, as on 

 looking down over the forests they appear like large flat plat- 

 forms, always being placed on the very summits of the trees. 

 The rapidity with which these birds can devour the remains 

 of a dead sheep or bullock is extraordinary. On one occasion 

 I had placed the skinned carcass of a moderate-sized sheep 

 in an open vineyard surrounded by thick cover, in hopes of 

 attracting some birds of prey. I had sat by it for several 

 hours without any thing having perceived it, and, getting tired 

 of waiting, moved away 200 or 300 yards. I had scarcely done 

 so when a common Kite (Milvus ictinus), flying by, caught 

 sight of the meat, and, after soaring round once or twice, lit ; 

 he was hardly down when a Cinereous Vulture appeared at a 

 great height, rapidly descending in circles, which became 

 smaller and smaller as he neared the ground ; he was followed 

 in quick succession by two Ravens, another Kite, another 

 Cinereous Vulture, and an Eagle (Aquila bone/Hi, I think), 

 which latter, however, did not light, but kept soaring round and 

 round. In the mean time I stalked to the spot as quickly as 

 possible, and managed to kill a Vulture, and then, to my sur- 

 prise, on looking at the sheep, found literally nothing left but 

 the clean-picked ribs, backbone, and head. I feel quite sure 

 that I am over the mark when I say six or seven minutes was 

 the outside limit of the time the Vultures were on the ground, 

 and one bird not more than half that time. The one I shot 

 was a fine old female, weighing 16| lbs. ; the weight of a male 

 I afterwards shot was only 15 lbs. ; the length of the female 

 in the flesh was 41 inches, from carpal joint to end of wing 

 30 inches. Vultures do not appear to begin to hunt very- 

 early in the morning, but wait until the sun is well up j and 

 few are to be seen during the extreme heat of the day, which 

 seems to show that they rest at that time. Their power of 

 going without food must be very great, as it is improbable 

 that a comparatively small island like Sardinia supplies enough 



