THE EGYPTIAN VULTURE 21 
which the vultures assemble directly there is 
anything in the way of carrion has been often 
noticed : they will appear where a moment before 
there was not one to be seen either on the 
earth or in the blue vault. And this was at 
one time regarded as one of the wonders of the 
bird world; but as is so often the case, more 
exact knowledge rather reduces the marvellous. 
The habit of vultures is to fly at a very great 
height and to keep circling round ; each bird prac- 
tically keeps to one area, another takes a great 
sweeping circle adjoining ; and others all the way 
round are in the same fashion, ever circling on the 
look-out. The moment one discerns anything down 
he swoops ; this is instantly observed by the bird on 
the adjoining beat, and down he rushes; this again 
is repeated indefinitely, and so in a few minutes a 
dozen or more vultures may be there at the find 
where before were none. The circles that each make 
are frequently very large, perhaps many miles; 
it can easily be imagined, therefore, what a large 
area can be covered, and covered most minutely, 
by, say, half a dozen birds. The young are very 
different in plumage, being a rather dirty grey- 
brown all over, with brown eyes, and they retain 
this peculiarity till their fourth year, when they get 
