166 LECTURE V. 



the Condor bring to our mind the imaginary 

 bird called the Roc or Ruck, which makes so 

 conspicuous a figure in the Arabian Tales. 



The most common European Vulture is the 

 V. castaneus, or great brown Vulture ; it is of a 

 dusky chesnut-brown colour, with a naked head and 

 neck ; the long wing-feathers black, and the base 

 of the neck surrounded by a ruff of short whitish 

 feathers. This is the Vulture so often seen in the 

 usual exhibitions of animals. It is found in the 

 South of Europe, and in many parts of Africa. 



The next genus of the Accipitres is called 

 Falco, and contains all the Eagles, Falcons and 

 Hawks. It is a genus so very numerous that 

 on the most moderate computation the species 

 may be supposed to amount to about 120. The 

 largest and most celebrated species is the Golden 

 Eagle, or Falco Chrysaetos of Linnaeus, which is of 

 a reddish brown colour, with dusky shades and 

 variegations, and has the cere or naked mem- 

 brane round the base of the bill of a deep yellow 

 or gold-colour : and the legs and feet are of 

 similar colour. Its general length is about three 

 feet, and its weight about 12 pounds. It is ob- 

 served to vary in some degree in its colours. The 



