534 Mr. P. T. L. Dodswortli on the Vulfvres 



shy disposition, it would require much time and mfiiiite 

 patience to obtain accurate information on tlie subject. 



One is tempted to assume that along with the acquisition 

 of the physical characteristics of raaleness, such as superior 

 size, more conspicuous plumage, and complicated trachea, 

 the female of this species has also acquired the ardour and 

 pugnacity of the male, and that the courter has now become 

 the courted. 



It would certainly not be surprising to find that this is 

 actually the case, for if the loss of the maternal instinct be 

 a step taken upon the road which leads to masculinity in all 

 things — and it surely is that, — then the females of Rostratula 

 capensis have not much farther to travel along that road. 



I have omitted to describe the plumage of the sexes of 

 Rostratula capensis at length, as such a description may be 

 found in many of the ordinary text-books. 



XXXI. — Notes on the Vultures found in the neighbourhood 

 of Simla and adjacent ranges of the Himalayas. By P. T. 

 L. DoDswoiiTH, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U. 



Ornithology lias been studied for so many years in India, 

 that it seems somewhat absurd to have to admit at the 

 l)resent day, that the exact limits and distribution of such 

 lai'ge birds as the Vultures in this country have not yet 

 been fixed with precision. Indeed, to go a step further, 

 recent enquiries * have revealed the startling fact that 

 systematists are not yet agreed as to whether one of the 

 common Indian species of Vultures is identical with, or 

 distinct from, the European Griffon ! Tlie bird referred to 

 is the common Bay A'ulture — the Gyps fulvescens of Hume. 

 Dr. Sharpe considered this bird a distinct species. Blanford, 

 on the other hand, treats Gyps fulvescens as synonymous 



* Journal Bombay Natuial History Society, vol. xxi. 1912, pp. 1331, 

 1:)32. 



