WITH FLASH-LIGHT AND RIFLE 



kites join the first, but they can only pick small pieces 

 out of the carcass. Suddenly a large, heavy bird drops 

 on the ground close by and hops clumsily up to the 

 smaller birds. It is a vulture. Soon the whole vulture 

 family assembles to partake of the feast: the white 

 vulture, the Ruppel vulture, the white - headed vult- 

 ure, the white -backed vulture (Psendogyps schilliugsi 

 Erl.), the eared vulture. Not unlike relatives, they fight 

 over the booty, using their beaks and wings to make 

 good their claim. Their quarrelling gives the poor kites 

 a chance to snatch a few bites. The marabou-storks 

 also feel entitled to a share in the spread. Like par- 

 achutes they drop from the sky and join the vult- 

 ures. The birds that have eaten their fill fly lazily 

 to the neighboring trees to digest the food. With 

 great interest I watch tliis struggle for existence and 

 take a picture or two of this battle of the birds. 



Having thus spent a restful quarter of an hour, we 

 continue our march into the steppe. Before us lies the 

 wide and arid plain ; the grass on the ground is dry and 

 parched. Above us hover a pair of short-tailed eagles. 

 They are not only beautiful but also strong. Few birds 

 can soar as high as the Helotarsus ecandatus, the plumage 

 of which is strangely variegated with maroon, black, 

 and gray. The ground on which we walk is everywhere 

 undermined by the burrows of ground - squirrels and 

 other animals. Here and there some shrubs and bushes 

 relieve the monotony of the scenery. The rolling and 



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