THE HOME OF THE LAMMERGEYER. 311 



In a remote region of the Sierra Nevada, during the 

 spring of IH'Jl, the writer visited several eyries of the 

 Lammergeyer — each nest, in construction and situation, 

 resembhng those ah'eady described, but the season (April) 

 was too late to secure eggs, this species breeding very 

 early — in January. The young — usually only one, though 

 two eggs are often laid — at this season were about one- 

 third feathered. These nests were in the midst of a 

 peculiarly barren and rocky district of the great Eastern 

 Sierras, the precise locality of which it may be as well to 

 leave unwritten. Two of the eyries were in low belts of 

 protruding rock which broke the steep slope of the sierra, 

 a third in a detached crag about 150 feet in height. The 

 latter, however, was easily accessible (by rope) from above. 

 The Lammergeyer, when breeding, is less cautious than 

 eagle or vulture, sitting close, even while preparations for 

 an assault on its stronghold are being made close at hand. 



The adults measure from 8 feet 6 inches to 9 feet in 

 expanse of wing, and the wedge-shaped white head with its 

 bristly beard and scarlet eyelids, its cat-like irides, and the 

 black l)ands that pass through the eye, give the bird a 

 peculiarly ferocious aspect. When on the wing, as Prince 

 Kudolph remarks, these features, together with the long 

 rigid wings, cuneate tail, and the mixture of hoary grey, 

 black, and bright yellow in its plumage, distinguish tlie 

 Gypaetus at a glance from any other living creature, and 

 lend it a strange, almost a dragon-like appearance. 



Its claws, though less acutely hooked than those of the 

 eagle, are sharp and powerful weapons — quite different 

 to the worn and blunted claws of vultures, though the 

 central toe in both is much longer than the two outside 

 ones. 



The industry of the peasantry of these wild regions of 

 Nevada deserves a passing remark. As high as rye or 

 other crops will grow, almost every foot of available 

 ground is brought under cultivation. Precipitous, stony 

 slopes are terraced with a perseverance that rivals, though 

 on a smaller scale, the vineyards of Alto Douro, elsewhere 

 described. Scanning the heights with a field-glass, one 



