THE LONG-BILLED VULTUKE. 169 



Order VII. ACCIPITEES. 

 Suborder FALCONE S. 



Family VULTURID.E. 



Genus GYPS, Savigny. 



548. GYPS INDICUS. 

 THE LONG-BILLED VULTURE. 



Vultur indicus, Scitps. Del. Faun, et Flor. Insub. ii. p. 85. Gyps indicus, Jerd. 

 B. Ind. i. p. 9 j Hume, Rough Notes, i. p. 21 ; id. Nests and Eggs, p. 5 ; id. S. F. 

 iii. p. 18 ; Sharpe, Cat. Birds B. Mus. i. p. 10 ; Bl. B. Burm. p. 64 ; Hume 8> 

 Dav. S. F. vi. p. 1 ; Hume, S. F. vii. p. 165, viii. p. 81 j Oates, S. F. x. p. 177. 



Description. Male and female. The head bare, with a few hair-like 

 feathers ; upper part of the neck thinly covered with down ; the lower 

 part naked; upper back, scapulars and wing-coverts dull brown; lower 

 back, rump and upper tail-coverts dull white ; wings and tail blackish 

 brown ; ruff white ; crop covered with dark brown feathers ; lower plumage 

 whity brown to tawny. 



Bill and cere bluish horny, dusky at tip ; legs and feet dusky cinereous ; 

 irides brown. (Jerdon.) 



Length 38 inches, tail 1O5, wing 24, tarsus 4*5, bill from gape 3. The 

 female is of about the same size. 



The Long-billed Vulture appears to be generally distributed over the 

 Province, at least as far south as Moulmein, but it is by no means plentiful. 

 I have never myself shot a specimen of this Vulture ; but I have often 

 observed a species which differed from the very common P. bengalensis, 

 and which was probably the present bird. Capt. Bingham observed it at 

 Moulmein, and thinks the two species equally common. Mr. Hume states 

 that he has seen a specimen that was killed in Upper Pegu. 



It extends north into India, and is spread over a considerable portion of 

 that peninsula, and it is stated to have occurred in Siam and at Malacca. 

 Dr. Tiraud met with it in Cochin China. 



This species is found in large flocks feeding on carrion ; and it breeds on 

 trees, laying but one egg, which is sometimes spotless greenish white, and 

 at other times marked with reddish brown. The Western and Central 

 Indian representative of this species (G. pallescens) appears always to 

 breed on the ledges of cliffs. 



