-BIRDS. VULTURID.*:. 



239 



This species inhabits the same districts as the preceding, 

 and appears to be almost equally abundant with it. It 

 is not, however, gregarious, more than two being rarely 

 seen together. It builds its nest in trees. Although 

 the Pondicherry vulture and the Bengal vulture are 

 nearly of the same size, the former appears to have the 

 power of inspiring some kind of dread in his brother 

 scavenger; for whenever he descends upon a carcass on 

 which a crowd of Bengal vultures are feeding, they 

 immediately make way for him and retire from the 

 banquet until he is satisfied a proceeding which has 

 obtained for the present species the name of the King 

 Vulture, both from Europeans and natives. 



THE SOCIABLE VULTUEE (Otogyps auriacularis), 

 one of the largest of the species inhabiting the Old World, 

 is an inhabitant of the interior of the Cape of Good 

 Hope, and apparently of the eastern parts of Africa in 

 general, as it is found also in Egypt, Abyssinia, and 

 Nubia. It was discovered in the first-mentioned locality 

 by the celebrated French traveller and naturalist, Le 

 Vaillant, who gives the following account of the first 

 specimen that he met with: "On the carcass of a 

 hippopotamus," says Le Vaillant, " there was a magni- 

 ficent vulture busily engaged in devouring it. I had 

 never seen such a large one. When I wounded it, 

 although already gorged with a great quantity of flesh, 

 as its crop contained six pounds and a half when I 

 dissected it, its greediness was such, that in attempting 

 to fly away, it tore off a fragment of its prey, as if 

 desirous of carrying the whole away with it. On the 

 other hand, the weight of the flesh which it had just 

 devoured made it heavy, and prevented it from taking 

 flight easily. We had time to reach it before it flew 

 away, and endeavoured to kill it with the butt ends of 

 our guns; but it defended itself for a long time with the 

 greatest intrepidity, biting our guns or pecking at them 

 with its beak." 



This fine bird measures about five feet in length, and 

 its expanse of wing is upwards of eleven feet. Its head 

 and neck are naked and of a reddish colour, tinged 

 here and there with blue, violet, and white ; the general 

 plumage is blackish-brown, and the frill surrounding 

 the base of the neck is of the same colour; the feathers 

 of the lower part of the body are crisped so as to exhibit 

 the white down with which the skin is clothed. The 

 beak is horn-coloured, with a yellow cere. The folds 

 of skin on the head and neck are very striking in this 

 species ; they commence behind the ears, round which 

 they form a sort of irregular conch ; they then pass 

 down the neck for several inches. From this peculiar 

 structure, which is referred to in both the scientific 

 names of the bird, Le Vaillant gave it the French name 

 of Oricou, or Eared-neck. 



The Sociable vulture is an inhabitant of the mountains, 

 where the numerous caves and fissures furnish it with 

 a good shelter in which to pass the night, or to repose 

 during the day, after a full meal. At sunrise they are 

 seen perched upon the rocks in large bands ; and from 

 these stations they soar into the air to such a height as 

 to become quite invisible. But, even at then- greatest 

 elevation, they seem still to keep a sharp look out upon 

 the occurrences in the world below them ; for no sooner 

 does an animal die than the vultures are upon it, 



" seeming," as Le Vaillant expresses it, " to escape from 

 a cavern in the sky." If a hunter kill an animal which 

 he cannot remove at once, he will find on his return 

 that the vultures are already busy on its carcase, 

 although a quarter of an hour previously not one was 

 to be seen in the neighbourhood. 



This bird builds its nest in the caverns of the rocks ; 

 and the different pairs agree so well together, that two 

 or three nests may sometimes be found in the same 

 cave. The female lays two or three eggs which are of 

 a bluish-white colour, with numerous large spots or 

 patches of reddish-brown, especially towards the larger 

 end. During the period of incubation the male birds 

 keep watch at the entrance of the cavern; and the 

 interior presents a most disgusting spectacle, and is 

 infected by an intolerable stench. 



THE EGYPTIAN VULTUEE (Neophron percnoplerus) 

 Plate 1, fig. 3 is a third species which occurs com- 

 monly in the south of Europe ; but it extends its visits 

 further to the north, having been killed even in Norway. 

 It is especially abundant in Greece, Arabia, and Egypt, 

 but is also met with in great numbers in India, and is 

 stationary all the year round in Spain, Italy, and the 

 south of France. Individuals have also been killed in 

 England. It is the bird popularly known as Pharaoh's 

 chicken. 



The characteristics of the genus Neophron consist 

 in the great development of cere, which occupies two- 

 thirds of the length of the beak; in the elongated longi- 

 tudinal nostrils; and in the nakedness of the face and 

 throat, while the back of the head and neck are clothed 

 with feathers. The present species is smaller than any 

 of those that we have described, measuring only about 

 two feet and a half in length; its plumage is white, with 

 the extremities of the wings black ; the naked skin of 

 the face and throat is yellow, the beak lead colour, the 

 feet yellow, and the claws black. 



The Egyptian vulture builds its nest, like the pre- 

 ceding species, amongst the rocks, and lays from two 

 to four eggs of a white colour, but usually more or less 

 spotted with brownish-red. It seeks its food, however, 

 principally in the towns and villages, where it feeds 

 promiscuously with the dogs and jackals on the carcasses 

 of animals and other putrefying filth, which appears 

 to be so peculiarly abundant about the habitations of 

 eastern nations. Its natural appearance is by no means 

 prepossessing, and its plumage is constantly daubed 

 over with the filth amongst which it finds its nourish- 

 ment; so that it constitutes a most disgusting object to 

 the eye. Nevertheless its useful properties are so well 

 recognized by the inhabitants of the countries in which 

 it principally occurs, that it would be almost a crime 

 there to kill one of these birds ; and in Cairo legacies 

 have been left by many wealthy men, for the purpose 

 of providing the vultures, and their brother scavengers 

 the kites, with supplies of fresh meat, in order, no doubt, 

 to induce them to remain permanent residents in the 

 city. This meat is distributed, according to Hasselquist, 

 every morning and evening in the great square where 

 criminals are executed ; and here the birds assemble 

 regularly to receive their expected meal. These vul- 

 tures are also said annually to accompany the caravan 

 to Mecca across the deserts, in order to feed on the 



