194 CLASS AVES. 



and I did not know but his next move might bring him oppo- 

 site to some of my people, so that he might actually get the 

 rest of the meat, and make off, I shot him with the ball 

 through the middle of the body, about two inches below the 

 wing, so that he lay down upon the grass without a single 

 flutter. 



" Upon laying hold of his monstrous carcass, I was not a 

 little surprised at seeing my hands covered and tinged with 

 yellow powder or dust. On turning him upon his belly, and 

 examining the feathers of his back, they also produced a dust 

 the colour of the feathers there. This dust was not in small 

 quantities ; for upon striking the breast, the yellow powder 

 flew in full greater quantity than from a hair-dresser's powder- 

 puff". The feathers of the belly and breast, which were of a 

 gold-colour, did not appear to have any thing extraordinary in 

 their formation ; but the large feathers in the shoulder and 

 wings seemed apparently to be fine tubes, which, upon pres- 

 sure, scattered this dust upon the finer part of the feather : 

 but this was brown, the colour of the feathers of the back. 

 Upon the side of the wing, the nibs or hard part of the feathers 

 seemed to be bare, as if worn ; or, I rather think, were renew- 

 ing themselves, having before failed in their functions. 



" What is the reason of this extraordinary provision of 

 nature it is not in my power to determine. As it is an unusual 

 one, it is probably meant for a defence against the climate, in 

 favour of birds which live in those almost inaccessible heights 

 of a country doomed, even in its lowest parts, to several months 

 excessive rain." 



M. Sonnini thinks that this African Gypaetos ought to be 

 considered as a species distinct from the Alpine or Ltemmer- 

 geyer; but, certainly, the description from Bruce affords no 

 sufficient characters on which to ground such a descrip- 

 tion. The differences of five or six inches in length, the 

 differences resulting from age or sex, as the upper part of 

 the head being white (an attribute of the adult), and the throat 



