416 Lieut. C. O. Fiucli-Davies on [I'^i^j 



From tlie descriptions furnislied me hy Mr. Guruey, 

 I believe both of these should be referred to P. africanus. 

 Furthermore, all the Vultures found breeding at Potchef- 

 stroom and collected by Major Sparrow and Mr. Austin 

 Roberts have proved to be P. africanus. 



Mr. W. L. Sclater, writing of a collection of birds pro- 

 cured by himself on the Zambezi at the Victoria Falls (Ibis, 

 1905), records a specimen of G. rueppelli. This specimen is 

 now in the South African Museum at Cape Town, and 

 through the kindness of the Director I liave been able 

 to examine it ; there is no doubt wlmtever that it is a 

 specimen of P. africanus in juvenile plumage. The number 

 of tail-feathers is not always a safe guide, as I shall have 

 occasion to point out when discussing P. africanus. There 

 are no specimens of the true G. rueppelli in any of the 

 South African museums. 



6. Pseudogyps africanus (Salv.). African White-backed 

 Vulture. 



I have never met with this species in any part of South 

 Africa in which I have been stationed, and so am not able to 

 add anything to what has already been written with regard 

 to its habits. I would, however, like to discuss a point 

 which seems to me to require investigation. The genus 

 Gyps has been separated from Pseudogyps on account of 

 the number of tail-feathers, which are fourteen in the 

 former, and r.re said to be twelve in the latter ; but as 

 regards the present species, this does not appear to be a 

 constant character. 1 have not been able to examine 

 a large series, but there is a very typical adult mounted 

 in the Soutli African Museum, Cape Town, procured by 

 Mr. Austin Roberts at Potchefstroom, which has fourteen 

 tail-feathers (counted). The descriptions of the adult and 

 young plumages given by Sclater do not seem to me to 

 he particularly good. I should not consider the colour of 

 the adult " dark brown/' but pale silvery brown, almost 

 pale grey ; on the other hand, the young plumage is dark 

 brown, each feather with a central fulvous streak and paler 



