107 



November 8, 1836. 

 Richard Owen, Esq., in the Chair. 



A letter, addressed to the Secretary, by Robert Mackay, Esq., the 

 British Vice-Consul at Maracaibo, and a Corresponding Member of 

 the Society, was read, describing the habits of a Vulture {Vultur 

 Papa, Linn.) forwarded to the Society for the Menagerie, but which 

 had unfortunately died during the voyage. 



After noticing the peculiar habit attributed to these birds, (which 

 frequently congregate to the number of three hundred,) of paying 

 deference to an individual differing from the rest in plumage, and 

 to which the inhabitants of Maracaibo give the title of king, Mr. Mac- 

 kay proceeds to state : 



" 'ITiese birds, in their flights, ascend to such a height as to be 

 lost sight of, and from their elevation, discover objects of prey. 



" They reside in the savannas of a warm and dry temperature ; 

 and their travels do not extend beyond five or six leagues of the 

 place where they have been bred. 



" They lay their eggs, and hatch their young, in the small con- 

 ca^'ities of mountains. 



" At a distance from towns, villages, and frequented roads, they 

 generally assemble in large numbers ; but in the immediate vicinity of 

 such situations the king never deigns to associate with his vassals." 



At the request of the Chairman, Mr. W. Martin read the follow- 

 ing description of a new species of the genus Felis. 



"The beautiful species of Felis to which I beg leave to call the 

 attention of the Meeting was brought from Java or Sumatra, and 

 obtained, with other specimens from the same locality, from Mr. 

 Gould. The only writer, as far as I can learn, who notices it, is 

 Sir W. Jardine in the ' Naturalist's Library,' in which work are two 

 figures from specimens in the Edinburgh Museum; but he there 

 confounds it with the Felis Diardi of Cuvier, to which sj)ecies, as 

 indeed also to the Felis Bengalensis, it bears a close affinity in the 

 style and colour of its markings. It will be easy, however, to show 

 that the Felis Diardi is a very different species to the present. The 

 first description of the F. Diardi is in the fourth volume of Cu\'ier's 

 Ossemens Fossiles, p. 437. 'There is,' says Cuvier, 'in Java an- 

 other wild Cat larger than Felis Bengalensis, very remarkable for the 

 beautiful regularity of its blotches, of which Messrs. Diard and Du- 

 vaucel have transmitted to us a skin and a drawing. We shall de- 

 signate it Felis Diardi.' After describing its colour, he adds, ' The 

 head is six inches, the tail 2 feet 4 inches, the body 2 feet and a 

 half, and its height at the shoulder must be 18 inches.' (French mea- 

 sures.) With regard to the Felis Diardi, it is somewhat questionable 

 whether it be distinct from the Felis macrocelis, or not ; at all events 



No. XLVn. — Proceedings ok the Zoological Society. 



