BIRDS. 



The most conspicuous external characteristic by which the Birds 

 are distinguished from all other inhabitants of earth is the feathery robe 

 which invests their bodies, and which serves the double purpose of cloth- 

 ing and progression. 



The fuller and more technical description of the Birds runs as follows : 

 They are vertebrate animals, but do not suckle their young. The young 

 are not produced in an actively animated state, but inclosed in the egg, 

 from which they do not emerge until they have been warmed into inde- 

 pendent life by the effects of constant warmth. Generally, the eggs are 

 hatched by means of the natural warmth which proceeds from the 

 mother-bird ; but in some instances, such as that of the Tallegalla of 

 Australia, the eggs are placed in a vast heap of dead leaves and grass, 

 and developed by means of the heat which is exhaled from decaying 

 vegetable substances. 



BIRDS OF PREY.— VULTURES. 



By common consent Vultures take the first rank among Birds, and 

 in the catalogue of the British Museum the Lammergeyer, or Beard- 

 ed Vulture, stands first upon the list. 



This magnificent bird is a native of Southern Ei^rope and Western 

 Asia, and often attains a very great size, the expanse of its wings being 

 sometimes as much as ten feet, and its length nearly ibur feet. 



The name of Bearded Vulture has been given to the Lammergeyer 

 on account of the tufts of long and stiff bristle-like luiirs which take rise 

 at the nostrils and beneath the bill, and form a very prominent charac- 

 teristic of the species. 



The color of the Lammergeyer is a gray-brown, curiously dashed 



with white upon the upper surface, in consequence of a white streak 



which runs along the centre of each feather. The under surface of 



the body, together with the neck, is nearly white, tinged with a wash 



of reddish brown, which is variable in depth in different individuals. 



In the earlier stages of its existence the Lammergeyer is of a much 



darker hue, and the white dashes upon the back are not so purely 



white or so clearly defined. The head and neck are dark brown, and 



the brown hue of the back is of so deep a tint that the young bird has 



been classed as a separate species, under the title of Vidtur niger, oi 



Black Vulture, 



279 



