BIRDS. 



CHAPTER XLIIL 



IN the Spring of 1892 a number of large birds passed 

 slowly over the outskirts of Nice. They flew in a 

 leisurely manner towards the north-east, and at no 

 great elevation, so that we had a good view of them. 

 I considered them to be Vultures, as Eagles are not 

 gregarious ; and an English resident, who was still 

 nearer to them, formed the same opinion. He told 

 me that there was great commotion among his 

 poultry, and that the pigeons flew in at the bedroom 

 windows for safety. 



As I watched these great birds of prey, wheeling 

 and sailing overhead, I thought what a sensation they 

 would have caused in ancient times ! What anxious 

 speculations, what omens of good fortune or fore- 

 bodings of disaster ! 



Those Vultures seen by Romulus and Remus 

 were probably birds of this same species. 



The Griffon Vulture is common in the Pyrenees, 

 the Sierras, Sardinia, and Sicily. Seebohm states 

 that it is less abundant in the Alps. But Vdrany 

 includes the bird among those " qui vivent se"dentaires 



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