GYPAETUS BARBATUS. 159 



brought out the Vulture. The entrance to the cave being very 

 narrow, the bird, unable to spread her wings at once, fell almost 

 on to oar heads as we stood below ; then, gathering way, she 

 glided down a steep slope below us, and finally fell dead to a 

 charge of small shot from Juan's rustly old single barrel. The 

 bird proved to be a very large and magnificently-coloured female, 

 measuring 3 feet 8^ inches in length and from wing to wing 8 feet 

 7 inches. Irides pale straw-colour, sclerotic membrane blood- 

 red ; bill bluish-horn ; feet lead-colour. 



"We then proceeded, with the aid of a rope, to inspect 

 the nest, and found that the hole from which the bird issued 

 led into a small cave, on the floor of which was a good- 

 sized heap of heather-stalks, bits of esparto-rope, sheep's-skin 

 breeches, and an old sandal (alpargata) ; a slight hollow lined 

 with sheep's wool contained two richly orange-coloured eggs : 

 one of these was on the point of hatching, the other addled. 

 Some men were blasting the rocks for lead-ore about two hundred 

 yards off, and goats were being constantly driven along the slope 

 beneath the nest apparently without disturbing the sitting bird. 

 The goatherd assured me that the Quebrantahuesos never injured 

 his goats or kids, but was an innocent bird (' pajaro inocente '), 

 and not like an Eagle. 



"On the 17th of January, 1884, I returned to this place and 

 saw a pair of Bearded Vultures sailing along the rocks a few 

 hundred yards from the nesting-place of 1876. On my return to 

 the village my servant told me that he had been watching the 

 Queb rant alme sos and had seen a Cuervo (Raven) fly out of the 

 rock and drive them off. In the evening the old cazador, Juan, 

 came in and said that there were many Qtiebrantahvesos still 

 about, and that four years ago the Prince of Germany, i. e. Crown 

 Prince of Austria, had visited the spot, and he (Juan) had taken 

 the Prince to two nests, from which he shot a pair of old birds 

 and took two young from each nest. The nest of 1876 was 

 examined but found empty. 



