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Unexplored Spain 



does the parent vulture incubate, that she allows herself to be 

 completely buried on her nest beneath the drifting snow. On 

 these hanging steeps the eyries are overlooked from above, 

 yet not a vestige of the sitting vulture can be seen until she is 

 disturbed by a blow from an axe on the trunk, or by a shot fired 

 — then off she goes, dislodging a cloud of snow from her three- 

 yard wings as she launches into space. 



BLACK VULTURE {Vultur vionachus) 



The black vulture lays but one huge egg, often boldly marked 

 and suffused with dark-brown and rusty blotches and splashes, in 

 contrast with the eggs of the griffon vulture, which are usually 

 colourless or, at most, but faintly shaded. 



The latter, so abundant in Andalucia, is remarkably scarce in 

 Gredos, where we saw rather more eagles than vultures. The chief 

 bird-forms of the high sierra were ravens and choughs, ring- 

 ouzels, rock -thrush and black -chat {Dromolaea leucura). The 

 alpine accentor {Accento7^ collar is) and alpine pipit [Antlius 



