VULTURES 



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only the Atlas countries and a part of the western coast, and very rarely appears 

 in Egypt. In Europe it is common in the plains of the Danube down to the 

 Dobrudscha, as well as in Bulgaria, Rumania, Servia, Bosnia, southern Hungary, 

 and Croatia. Farther north it never breeds, although common in Asia Minor and 

 the southern slope of the Ural. It travels enormous distances in search of prey, 

 and on such excursions has occasionally been seen in Holstein. It is 42 inches 

 long, and blackish in colour on the head and neck On each shoulder it carries 

 a movable tuft of feathers; while the lower part of the neck is covered with 





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GRIFFON VULTURES. 



down, which, when the bird draws 

 in its head, and thereby hides the 

 bare part of the neck, forms a heart- 

 shaped collar surrounding a triangular 

 patch of dark feathers. The rest of 

 the plumage is black with brownish 

 reflections. The very different griffon 

 vultures, which are about the size of turkeys, are distinguished by their almost 

 erect carriage, the strong beak, which in the middle is as high as half its 

 length, and the somewhat slender head and neck. The legs, which are shorter 

 than the middle toe, are feathered on the upper part, and the neck and head are 

 covered with down. The true griffon vulture (Gyps fnlvus) is a bird of the roojks, 

 frequenting either mountains, or, more commonly, the plains or sea-cliffs. In the 

 pairing-season this vulture heaps up dry twigs and plants to form a loose nest in 

 a cavity in some steep, inaccessible position, in which is laid some time after the 



