BEARDED VULTURE. 15 



bigness of a man's whole hand : the bottoms or 

 roots of the feathers all over the bird are white : it 

 hath also a very thick, soft, white down all over 

 the body under its feathers. The under side, 

 breast, belly, thighs, and coverts under the tail are 

 white, a little tinctured with reddish-brown: the 

 legs are covered with short, white, downy feathers, 

 which are, when it perches, covered by the longer 

 feathers of the thighs : the feet are of a lead-colour, 

 the claws dusky, the middle and outer toes on 

 each foot are joined by a strong skin." 



The individual above-described, by Edwards was 

 brought, as he informs us, from Santa Cruz on 

 the Coast of Barbary. It appears to be a native 

 of many of the wilder regions both of Asia and 

 Africa, and seems to be recorded by the celebrated 

 Mr. Bruce under the name of Nisser JVerk*. Mr. 

 Bruce's description affords a striking instance of 

 its boldness and voracity. Mr. B. erroneously 

 calls it an Eagle. His description runs as follows. 



" He is called by the vulgar Abou Duch'n y or 

 Father Long-Beard, which we may imagine was 

 given him from the tuft of hair he has below his 

 beak. I suppose him to be not only the largest 

 of the Eagle kind, but surely one of the largest 

 birds that flies. From wing to wing he was eight 

 feet four inches. From the tip of his tail to the 

 point of his beak, when dead, four feet seven inches. 

 He weighed twenty-two pounds, and was very full 

 of flesh. He seemed remarkably short in the legs, 



* Bruce. Trav. append, p. 155. pi. opposite ditto. 



