190 CLASS AVES. 



the Great Namaquois. They are not very wild, and will suffer 

 themselves easily to be approached : the natives never hurt 

 them, because they clear their encampments, &c., from the 

 abundance of filth with which they are generally encumbered. 



The vulture of Angola, the percnopterus with black wings, 

 and the vulture of Malta, [V. Fuscus), are referred to by M. 

 Vieillot, and most probably belong to this species. 



In Cuvier's division of the Griffins comes the Bearded 

 Vulture, Lcemmergeyer of the Alps, ( Vultur Barbatus et Bar- 

 barus, Linn, and Lath.), Phene Ossifraga of Savigny. The 

 German name signifies. Vulture of Lambs ; and this bird is, in 

 fact, a very formidable scourge to the flocks which pasture in 

 the Alpine valleys. It wages cruel war on sheep, lambs, she- 

 goats, and even calves : the chamois, the hare, the marmot, and 

 other wild quadrupeds, also become its victims. Its force corre- 

 sponds with its corpulence, which according to some writers is 

 immense, and is equal even to that of the condor. Fourteen 

 and even eighteen feet in the extent of wings have been attri- 

 buted to the Laemmer-geyer. Gesner reports that the eyrie of 

 one of these birds was discovered in Germany, placed upon 

 three oaks, and constructed of branches, &c., so far extended, 

 that a waggon might have been completely sheltered under 

 it. In this nest were three young birds, already so large as to 

 measure seven ells in the envergure ; their legs were already 

 thicker than those of a lion, and their claws as large as the 

 fingers of a man. In this nest were found several skins of 

 calves and sheep. The eggs are white, and spotted with 

 brown. 



It would appear, however, that exaggeration has had a good 

 deal to do with recitals of this kind. A very distinguished 

 naturalist, who has observed this species in the Pyrenees, Picot 

 la P6rouse, has described it very carefully, and considerably 

 reduced the magnitude attributed to it by others. He gives to 

 it the following dimensions : — envergure, eight feet and a half; 

 total length of the animal, three feet ten ; weight, about ten 



