GRIFFON VULTURE. 5 



frequent open plains in winter. In Sardinia, and in some 

 other countries, this Vulture makes a large nest, of 

 three or four feet in diameter, on high trees, and lays 

 two or sometimes three elongated white eggs, three inches 

 and five eighths in length, by two inches and a half in 

 breadth. 



The following description is taken from a fine living 

 specimen in the garden of the Zoological Society in the 

 Regent's Park. The beak from the curved point to the 

 cere is of a yellowish white horn colour ; the cere itself 

 bluish black ; the irides reddish orange ; the head, neck, 

 and circular ruff of dull whitish down ; the lanceolate 

 feathers below the circular ruff, the plumage of the 

 upper surface of the body and the wing-coverts, light 

 yellowish brown ; the shaft of each feather of light wood 

 brown ; the primaries and tail-feathers dark clove brown ; 

 the lower part of the neck in front, and the upper part 

 of the breast dull white, mixed with light brown ; under 

 surface of the body reddish yellow brown; the smaller 

 under wing-coverts light brown ; the large under wing- 

 coverts almost white ; the legs and toes lead colour ; the 

 claws black ; the anterior portion of each toe covered 

 with six large scales, the remaining portion and the legs 

 reticulated. 



A specimen in the Museum of the Zoological Society, 

 sent by Sir Thomas Reade from Tunis, measures in its 

 whole length from the point of the beak to the end of 

 the tail-feathers three feet eight inches; from the an- 

 terior bend of the wing to the end of the longest quill- 

 feather twenty-seven inches ; the length of the middle toe 

 and claw five inches. 



