342 THE MARABOU STORK. 



height resembling flies. Presently a rushing sound has been 

 followed by the presence of a red-faced vulture that has 

 fallen from the heavens, in haste, with closed wings, followed 

 quickly by many of his brethren. The sky has become 

 alive with black specks in the far distant blue, with wings 

 hurrying from all quarters. At length a coronet of steady 

 soaring vultures forms a wide circle far above, as they hesi- 

 tate to descend, but continue to revolve around the object of 

 attraction. The great bare-necked vulture appears. The 

 animal has been skinned, and the flesh secured. We with- 

 draw 100 paces from the scene: a general descent takes 

 place: hundreds of hungry beaks are tearing at the offal. 

 The great bare-necked vulture claims respect among the 

 crowd, but another form has appeared, and descends rapidly. 

 A pair of long, ungainly legs, hanging down beneath enorm- 

 ous wings, now touch the ground, and ' Abou Seen' (Father 

 of the teeth or beak the Arab name for the marabou) has 

 arrived, and stalks proudly towards the crowd, pecking his 

 way with his long bill, and swallowing the lion's share of 

 the repast. 'Abou Seen' last, but not least, has arrived 

 from the highest region; while others have had the advant- 

 age of the start. " * 



In this wonderful description of a scene that may 

 be witnessed any day in lands where many vultures 

 are, it will be observed that the largest and strongest 

 birds come last, and hunt at distances probably several 

 miles above the earth. 



The idea of several layers of vultures, existing 

 one above the other in the regions of space, is how- 

 ever by no means a new one; on the contrary, it is 

 one of very ancient date, descending to us from the 

 days of Egyptian and Hebrew mythology, when it 

 was supposed that the heavens were divided into 



* The Nile Tribiitaries of Abyssinia, by Sir Samuel White Baker. 

 1867, pp. 493 to 496. 



