THE LAMMERGEIER. 



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breast, and long, dark tail, he is an awful-looking beast, and lias the reputation of committing divers 

 evil deeds such, for instance, as pushing lambs and kids, and even men, off the rocks, when they aie 

 in ticklish situations. Nevertheless, he is a somewhat cowardly bird, has a feeble, querulous cry, and 

 will submit to insults from a Falcon not a fourth his size or weight." 



Von Tschudi says that in Switzerland it will capture Hares, Martens, Squirrels, Crows, and 

 Woodcocks, and he states that a stomach was found to contain five pieces of Bullock's ribs two inches 

 thick and from six to nine inches long, a lump of hair, and the leg of a young Goat from the kne to 



BEAKDEU EAGLE, OR LAMMERGEIER. 



the foot. The bones were perforated by the gastric juice, and partly reduced to powder. The stomach 

 of another Lammergeier, examined by Mr. Schinz, contained the large hip-bone of a Cow, the skin and 

 fore-quarters of a Chamois, many smaller bones, some hair, and a Heath-cock's claws. Should a 

 Lammergeier see an old Chamois or a Sheep or Goat grazing near a precipice, it will whirl round 

 and round, trying to torment and frighten the creature till it runs to the edge of the cliff, and then, 

 falling down upon it, the bird not unfrequently succeeds in pushing it into the abyss below with one 

 stroke of its wings. Diving down after its mangled victim, it will begin by picking out its eyes, and 

 then proceed to tear open and devour the body. It is only the smaller class of booty, such as Foxes, 

 Lambs, or Marmots, which can be carried off by the Lammergeier, as its feet and claws, as we have 

 already remarked, are comparatively weak.* 



In the Himalayas, where the species is also tolerably plentiful, its habits vary somewhat, and it 



* " Sketches of Nature in the Alps." 



