With Flashliht and Rifle 





there whizzes obliquely a dark-winged object that settles 

 on the remains of the gnu. It is only when at a little 

 distance from the ground that the vulture spreads out 

 his wings, at the same time stretching forth his talons, 

 thus mitigating the force of his fall. Greedily, with un- 

 gainly hops, he hurries towards the remnants of my booty. 

 From different directions he is followed by others and again 

 others of his kindred. Marabous let themselves down to 

 the vultures without a movement of the wings, like para- 

 chutes, their long legs stuck quaintly forward. But they 

 never by any chance land upon the carcase ; they reach 

 the ground at some distance from it. Vulture upon vulture 

 now comes whizzing down : the little carrion- vulture 

 (Neophron monachus], picking out scattered morsels with 

 its weak bill and pulling timidly at the larger fragments ; 

 the stately Ruppell's vulture, in its simple, sand-coloured 

 plumage ; the gaily coloured hooded vulture (Lophogyps 

 occipitalis] ; the grey-headed vulture, my own discovery 

 (Pse-iidogyps africanus scJnllingsi}, and the "sociable" 

 vulture (Otogyps auricular is], the largest and most im- 

 posing of all its tribe, whose occurrence in German East 

 Africa I was the first to establish. 



With incredible rapidity the assembled birds gobble 

 down the fragments. Into the: midst of their quarrelling 

 and the Happing of their wings the smaller birds tumble 

 cleverly down ; they catch up the morsels of flesh that 

 are flying about in the tumult, tear them asunder in the 

 air with their claws, and swallow them. In the same 

 way the preying storks ensure themselves their share of 

 the booty. In an incredibly short time the troop of birds 



574 



