vii LAMMERGEIER KILLS AN IZARD 177 



awkward climb, had got up the bird was flown. How 

 he had got out, the rock being surrounded with snow, 

 we have never made out. He must have clambered 

 up into the precipice itself. The next day we went 

 back to the rocks, and we posted ourselves at the east 

 end of them, sending the men and dogs in at the west. 

 I was posted above the place I shot the bouquetin, and 

 Post higher up. Just as Celestin, who was beating, got 

 near Post, he spied a bouquetin on a desperate rocky 

 place ; he tried to call Post, but before he could get to 

 him the bouquetin dashed down and tried to get back. 

 Exasperated, Celestin fired at her, and killed her stone 

 dead. She fell down on to the cornice below him, 

 breaking her foreleg in exactly the same place as my 

 old male, but luckily not hurting her horns. She 

 was a very old female, quite barren, her horns 12 

 inches long. The next day we went to the beat where 

 you had the row with the Spaniards. Here we bagged 

 a young izard, which one of the men saw killed by a 

 lammergeier. 1 The robber swooped on the poor little 

 beast and knocked it over. It got up and struggled 

 away, but the lammergeier followed and swooped down 

 again, killing it dead. It snowed away hard for a day 

 or two now. One morning, about eight o'clock, Post 

 looked out, and our old friend the lammergeier flew 

 past within 20 yards of the house through the 

 drifting snow. When it got finer, thinking that the 

 boodah would be sure to be down in the Sanctuary, 

 we beat it but found nothing. When the beat was 



1 GYPAETUS BARBATUS. Bearded Vulture. Dresser, in his Birds 

 of Europe ) states that it is found in the Pyrenees and Alps, and only in 

 the Atlas range in India. Total length, 43 inches ; a distinct species in 

 itself ; very solitary in its habits ; partakes far more of the habits of the 

 vulture than the eagle ; feeds on carrion ; sometimes attacking weakly 

 lambs, etc. The plate of the young bird in Mr. Dresser's book is taken 

 from a specimen in the collection of Sir Victor's brother, Mr. Basil Brooke. 



