38 THE HUMAN SIDE OF BIRDS 



wild deer, momentarily hangs suspended at a giddy- 

 height in the heavens, without the motion of a 

 feather, then shoots rapidly upward like a sky- 

 rocket, till out of sight, returning to earth like a 

 leaden ball, amid a complicated acrobatic perform- 

 ance, like a tumbler pigeon. Mankind may well 

 cast envious glances at this marvel of the air. No 

 wonder Nature's untutored children in the "Land 

 of Ham" have called him the courier of the gods! 

 There he has a permanent place in their rhymed 

 songs and sayings. 



The Egyptian vulture is a common sight in the 

 villages and towns of Upper Egypt and Nubia. 

 He seems to have no fear, as he patrols his beat, 

 and he is rarely disturbed by the natives. He will 

 perch on low trees within a city and sometimes 

 alight on the streets to get a bone. If other birds 

 disturb him or come into his regular territory, he 

 soon drives them away. Although he is friendly 

 with the kingfishers of the Nile, and is sometimes 

 found in company with the much-respected hooded 

 crows, he is the deadliest enemy of all other mem- 

 bers of the feathered tribe. 



So completely is his authority established that he 

 actually breeds in small trees in the towns, with- 

 out fear of being disturbed. Birds know that they 

 can implicitly trust the Arabs ; for these people have 



