538 Mr. P. T. L. DodsvTorth on the Vultures 



has had an extensive knowledge of the N.W. Himalayas, 

 remarks in epist.: — ^'' Gyps fulvusis,! believe, fairly common 

 in the lower ranges of the western Himalayas, though I 

 cannot say I have noticed it at Simla, but I imagine it must 

 occur there. The common Vulture round Murree and in 

 the Vale of Kashmir I have always put down as this bird. 

 Gyps himalayensis is very common of course higher up. 

 Gyps temdrostris I do not know, and have never seen. 

 But the Vulturidse, I must confess, are not a group I have 

 ever interested myself much in.^' 



In ' Stray Feathers,' volume v. p. 123, which we bad 

 overlooked in making tbe above enquiry, we find that Hume 

 has already recorded that his Gyps falvescens (= Gyps fidvus) 

 "never occurs in the Himalayas." 



4. Gyps himalayensis Hume. The Himalayan Griffon. 

 Blauford, Fauna Brit. India, Birds, No. 1193. 



This magnificent Vulture, first described by Hume — 

 identical with Gyps nivicola of Severtzov, the Snow-Vulture 

 of Turkestan and tbelMongolian frontiers — abounds through- 

 out the north-west Himalayas, and is a common Bird of 

 Prey in the neighbourhood of all the sanitaria along these 

 ranges. It generally keeps above altitudes of 3000-4000 feet, 

 and only descends to lower elevations when compelled to do 

 so in search of food. Once the appetite has been satisfied, 

 it immediately returns to its original haunts. It is par 

 excellence the Vulture of the mountains, and seems equally 

 at home in the subtropical region of the Himalayas as in 

 the desolate and inhospitable regions embraced by the 

 Tibetan or Alpine zone. 



It roosts in large colonies on precipitous ridges and clifl^s, 

 though it is not unusual to see a solitary bird occasionally 

 perched on the summit of some gigantic tree. The roosting- 

 sites are used year after year, and can easily be located from 

 long distances by tbeir white appearance, caused by the 

 droppings of the birds. 



It does not venture forth in quest of its prey till long 

 after the sun has risen. On quitting its nocturnal haunts, 



