THE EGYPTIAN VULTURE 



Neophron percnopterus 

 Hnchutu, Arabic 



White all over body, wings black, a curious fringe of long 

 feathers round the head ; these sometimes get stained a more 

 or less strong yellow ; bare parts round eve and beak, yellow. 

 Legs pinky, eyes carmine red, but Shelley says they do not 

 get the full red eye till their fourth year. 



Entire length, 27 inches. 



This vulture, as shown by the above description, 

 is markedly different from the great Griffon Vul- 

 ture, and there can be no possible mistake in re- 

 cognising it. From the tail-piece, which is taken 

 from a painting of one on the inside of a wooden 

 outside coffin casing, one can easily see the pecu- 

 liarities of this bird ; and at Deir-el-15ahari there are 

 many painted examples showing the bird more or less 

 in its natural colours, the bright yellow of the bill is 

 shown, and the dark wings are rendered in a dull 

 green. Why they should render one colour by 

 another seems strange, but here again we must 

 wait till Mr. Howard Carter gives us his explana- 

 tion of this and the many other points he is still 



patiently working out. The wonderful way in 



20 



