THE VULTURES 2023 



It appears to build invariably in trees; tall peepuls and banyans being its especial 

 favorites. An anonymous writer to the Asian mentions that in April, 1887, he came 

 across a nest of this vulture in Sirmur. ' ' Being on the hillside above, I could look 

 right down into the nest; the owner was sitting very close, and it was only when I 

 got quite near, shouted, and threw sticks at it, that it moved; then, standing up, it 

 opened its beak and spread out its wings by way of intimidation, at the same time 

 disclosing to view one large white egg upon which it had been sitting. The nest, 

 placed in the crown of the tree, was an enormous mass of sticks, with finer ones as 

 a lining, and the large round white egg was very nearly hatched." A nest men- 

 tioned by Mr. Hume, which had been in use for several years, contained over six 

 hundredweight of material. 



Nearly allied is the Abyssinian vulture (Lophogyps octipitalis] , dis- 

 y .f ' iai tinguished by the head being covered with down, which forms a ridge 

 on the occiput, and by the absence of the neck lappets. It is a com- 

 paratively small species, with blackish-brown plumage, and while probably inhabit- 

 ing the whole of the east side of Africa, is found on the west only in Senegal. 



The scavenger vultures, of which there are two well-defined species, 

 gy ^ ian derive their name from the loathsome nature of the food of their typ- 

 ical representative, which consists chiefly of ordure, and are accord- 

 ingly the most disgusting of their tribe. They are distinguished from all other 

 vultures "by their elongated longitudinal nostrils, and likewise by the slenderness 

 and length of the beak, and are smaller than the other members of the family. The 

 head and neck are partly bare, and the wings long and somewhat pointed, with the 

 third quill the longest. The white scavenger vulture, commonly known as the 

 Egyptian vulture {Neophron percnopterus) , which has occasionally visited the Brit- 

 ish Islands, and is represented in its adult and immature plumage in the centre of 

 the plate on p. 2018, is characterized by the general white hue of the plumage of the 

 adult. The long hackles on the back of the head and neck have, however, a rusty 

 tinge, and the secondary quills are mostly brown, and the primaries black. The 

 typical form, which attains a length of twenty-five inches and has the beak of a pale 

 brown horny color, inhabits the countries bordering both sides of the Mediterranean 

 and Red Seas, from whence it extends southward to the Cape, and eastward to 

 Persia and Northwestern India. In Peninsular India it is replaced by a variety or 

 species distinguished by its inferior size and yellow beak. In young birds the 

 plumage is of a dirty- brown color, with the back and rump tawny, and during the 

 intermediate stage the plumage becomes mottled with brown and white. 



The Egyptian vulture is commonly seen in pairs or singly, and when on the 

 ground stalks about with a peculiarly high action of the legs. In addition to the 

 food already alluded to, these birds will also eat carrion; but their feeble beaks 

 render them unable to tear open the tough hides of large animals, and they have to 

 wait till the carcass is opened by their more powerful kindred. These birds build 

 either on rocks or large buildings, or in trees, frequently in the suburbs of towns. 

 The nest is large and composed of sticks and rubbish, usually lined with rags; its 

 general shape being that of an irregular platform, with a slight depression in the 

 centre. Mr. Hume observes that in many parts of India ' ' wayfarers, as they pass 



