inhabiting the South of Africa. 113 



A. nigra, rostro nigricante ; ceromaflavum, dorso albo. 



Bill blackish blue, verging here and there to a light horn 

 color ; cere deep yellow ; eyes reddish brown ; space between 

 them and bill pretty thickly set with black bristles ; back and 

 tail coverts white ; plumage elsewhere deep black ; tail more 

 rounded than in the foregoing species; tarsi and toes deep 

 yellow; claws black. Length from bill to base of tail 17 

 in. ; length of latter 12 in. ; expanse of wings about 7 feet. 



Young. The upper mandible towards base is yellowish, 

 the rest is livid black ; the lower, with the exception of the 

 tip which is of the latter color, is a clear yellow ; the head, 

 the back, and the sides of neck, clear reddish tawny, inclined 

 to a pale chesnut ; the interscapular and shoulder feathers 

 dirty brown, edged, and strongly tipt with tawny ; the back 

 a mixture of chesnut, brownish black, and dirty reddish white. 

 Below reddish brown of various tints, with the centres of 

 feathers blackish or blackish brown ; legs light tawny. Pri- 

 mary feathers have their inner vanes, towards their bases, 

 marked by transverse black and white bands, and the outer 

 ones by an uniform brownish red, elsewhere brownish black, 

 with waved bands or narrow lines of hoary gray, and all tipt 

 with reddish white. Tail feathers towards quills black, crossed 

 with narrow reddish white bands ; near extremities reddish 

 brown, and tips reddish white ; feet and toes livid white ; 

 claws black. 



Obs. This is one of the few birds which do not appear to 

 have been quite correctly studied and observed by Le Yail- 

 lant. He states it as displaying certain characters of the 

 Vultures, though it doubtless exhibits in its formation and 

 habits, all the peculiarities of the genuine eagles ; and he 

 affirms that it feeds upon carrion, but I have never observed 

 it to resort to situations where such existed. As far as my 

 experience goes its food consists almost entirely of the Dassie 

 (Hyrax Capensis) and from that circumstance it is usually 

 met with near the tops of mountains, either soaring about 

 or perched in positions from whence it can discover the 

 little quadrupeds just named, upon which it descends with a 

 character clearly indicative of its affinity. Besides such dif- 

 ferences in the less tangible points, there is a very material 

 variance in some of the more evident characters, particularly 

 in that of color, which he describes as being entirely black; 

 whilst in twelve adult specimens that I have examined the 

 back and tail coverts were invariably white. That such an 

 omission should have been committed by an observer of such 

 amazing accuracy I can hardly conceive, yet I cannot bring 

 myself to believe that specimens procured by him were with- 

 out the white back ; and, therefore, feel persuaded that his 



D 2 [19] 



