NESTS AND EGGS 



OF 



BRITISH BIRDS 



GRIFFON VULTURE 



PLATE I. 



Gyps fulvus, GRAY. 



Vultur fulvus, GOULD. 



A SINGLE specimen only of the Griffon Vulture has 

 been captured in the British Isles, its breeding range 

 being the countries bordering on the Mediterranean and 

 eastward into Persia, and even beyond. 



The nests, which are placed on ledges or in cavities of 

 the mountains, and seldom to be reached without a rope, are 

 large and coarse, being formed of boughs, tufts of grass, or 

 any available material. 



The egg, which is usually single, although two are some- 

 times found in one nest, is of a dull white colour, sometimes 

 marked more or less with a few very pale red, or, rather, 

 rust-coloured blots. "A strong and musky smell," writes 

 Mr. Howard Saunders, "pervades alike the eggs, the nest, 

 and the dung-splashed ledge." 



Mr. Salvin, writing in the Ibis, states : "In one instance 

 VOL. i. A 



