220 A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY OF NEPAL. 



depth of closed bill at cere, 1*16 to 1'2 ; width at gape, 1*4: to 

 1'5 ; cere, 0*85 ; mid-toe, 4*0 to 4*2 ; its claw straight, 0*95 

 to 1"2 ; weight, lllbs. to lllbs. 5ozs. 



In young birds the bill is horny black ; cere shining black ; 

 i rides dark browu ; skin of head and neck leaden greenish j 

 cheeks livid ; feet dull black ; claws horny black. 



An adult male in breeding plumage, shot on the 18th Novem- 

 ber, was quite a handsome bird. The general colour black ; 

 back, rump^ and under wing-eoverts white ; ruff of decomposed 

 feathers pale tawny ; under surface of body blackish 

 brown, the feathers with pale fulvous shafts ; crop patch pure 

 velvety black. Immature birds, which are far more commonly 

 seen than adults, are entirely without the white back, ramp, 

 and under wing-coverts ; the general colour above is dark 

 brown, the back being rather paler and with fulvous shafts to 

 the feathers ; the crop patch warm brown ; beneath a paler and 

 more rufous brown than the upper parts ; the feathers narrowly 

 centred with pale fulvous or with whitish. 



The Indian White-backed Vulture is exceedingly common iil 

 the valley of Nepal, where it breeds and lives throughout the 

 year. It is also fairly common in the Nawakot district in 

 winter, being the only species of Vultui'e noticed there at that 

 season. If we arrange the Vultures of the valley according 

 to their numerical strength, the species will stand in the follow- 

 ing order, the present bird being by far the most common, while 

 monachus is the rarest : — bengalensis, calvus, tenuirostris, ful- 

 vescens, Mmalai/ensis, monachus. The Common Vulture is 

 usually seen near the banks of the Bagmati and Bishnumati 

 rivers, especially in the neighbourhood of the burning ghats, 

 and generally wherever a dead animal is to be found. It is 

 tame and sluggish, and may often be seen tearing at a carcase 

 in company with dogs and crows, the latter ( Corvus splendens) 

 sometimes standing on the Vulture's back. This Vulture can 

 run with the greatest ease, and can simulate death most per- 

 fectly, as the following instance will show : — I once shot one of 

 these birds off a pine tree, breaking one of its wings, but not 

 otherwise injuring it. It fell to the ground, and when I got 

 near it, it was lying so perfectly still that I thought it was 

 dead. I turned it over with my foot and walked away, intend- 

 ing to send a servant to pick it up afterwai-ds. No sooner 

 had I got about twenty yards from the bird then it started up 

 and ran away quickly among the trees. The servant who was 

 sent to look for it brought it into my garden, holding it by the 

 feet, and threw it on the ground saying that it was quite dead. 

 I walked away a little distance and watched ; presently the 

 Vulture stood up and began to peer about cautiously. On my 



