26 



INDIAN VULTURE. 



Vultur Indicus. V.fuscus, corpore supra fasciis pallidis, capitc 



col/oque devudatis rufis, 7'emigibus rectricibnsque nigris. Lath. 



ind. orn. p. j '. 

 Brown Vulture, with naked, rufous head and neck, and black 



wing and tail-feathers. 

 Indian Vulture. Lath. Syn. suppl. p. 6. 

 Le grand Vautour des Indes. Sonner. voy. Ind. 2. p. 183. 



pi. 105. 



Size of the preceding species : head and neck 

 rufous, and furnished with a scattered hairy down : 

 bill black: irides red: neck long in proportion, 

 and beset with tufts of very fine feathers: those of 

 the breast short, appearing as if clipped or shaven; 

 those of the lower part of the neck behind long, 

 narrow, pointed, and of a bright rufous colour : 

 wing-coverts, back, and rump brown, with pale 

 bands, owing to the tip of each feather being 

 much paler than the rest : quills, tail, and legs 

 black. Native of India: extremely voracious, 

 principally frequenting the sea banks, and preying 

 on dead fish and other putrid substances^ and, like 

 other birds of this genus, sometimes assembling in 

 vast numbers on a field of battle. 



