262 



DIURNAL BIRDS OF PREY. 



of March, are commonly two in number, although there may be three. In size, 

 colour, and texture specimens differ much ; but they are generally chalky, and vary 

 from pure greyish or reddish white, with a few specks at one end, to a uniform 

 dingy blood-red hue. The Egyptian vulture, or " Pharaoh's chicken," is well 

 represented on the ancient sculptures of the country from which it takes its name, 

 and is the bird alluded to in Leviticus under the name of Geier-eagle. On account 

 of its value as a scavenger, it is still protected in Egypt, as it is in some other 



PILEATED VULTURE {\ nat. size). 



parts of Africa. In the Nile Valley its usual breeding-places are the tall mud-cliffs 

 bordering the river. 



A very different-looking bird to the foregoing is the African 

 pileated vulture {N. inleatus), in which the general colour of the 

 plumage is chocolate-brown, with the quills and tail black ; the naked portion of 

 the head and neck tjping of a purple hue during life. In the typical South African 

 form the total length of the bird is some 26 inches, but in North-Eastern and 



Plicated Vulture. 



