NORTHERN SOCIABLE VULTURE. 3 
in the Museum (that named above,) but in this, the ensiform feathers 
forming the ruff appear to me to be as long as those in the three 
specimens of V. nubicus. 
Seventh. — Our three specimens of V. nubicus, and our one of V. 
auricularis, all have the crop which is encircled (except on the upper 
side) by the ruff, clothed with small, silky, brown feathers. 
Eighth. — Our specimen No. 1., of V. nubicus seems to show that I 
was wrong in writing to you that the northern bird was always more 
clothed with short down on the head and neck than the southern bird, 
and also in saying that the northern bird never has any white on the 
tibial feathers. 
In short> the difference between the two is very much reduced to 
this, that the northern birds i" have seen in confinement, have had the 
head covered with down, and dull coloured, instead of having it red 
and bare (although our Abyssinian stuffed bird has it bare,) and that 
I have never seen the northern bird with the large flaps of skin on the 
side of the neck, which are occasionally, though not frequently, to be 
observed in specimens of the southern bird." 
My friend Mr. Bond, at my request made a careful comparative ex- 
amination of the southern and northern forms of the Sociable Vulture 
in the Zoological Gardens, and the following is his report: — 
" The bird in the Gardens representing the southern form, has only 
the front of the neck, half way down, throat, and upper part of the 
head, bare. The other bird, the northern form, has only the throat 
and the head bare, the neck thickly covered with feathers. 
I made the following notes as to two specimens. 
First. — Southern bird ( V. auricularis ) has the head bare of feathers, 
the wrinkles on head and neck perhaps rather larger than in the 
northern bird; front of neck, bare for about half its length, the rest 
covered with feathers. At the back of the head and partly from the 
neck, there is a "ruff" or "mane" of feathers, the longest perhaps an 
inch and a half long. The outside of the thighs and side of body, 
pure white ; inside of thigh, and under parts, dark brown, except the 
under tail coverts, which appear of a dirty white. I did not observe 
much difference in the legs and toes, the back was rather lighter in 
colour, but with their backs towards you both birds appear very much 
alike. 
Second. — The northern bird ( V. nubicus) has the neck quite covered 
with feathers (not down) close up to the throat; the throat and upper- 
parts of the head only .bare. The feathers forming the "ruff," or 
"mane," are very long and narrow, quite three to four inches long, 
and when the bird is asleep some of the feathers stand up, somewhat 
