THE EGYPTIAN VULTURE 23 
to the water’s edge; then we saw it had been 
having a real gorge; it was hideously rotund, and 
had apparently been living inside “the joint” until, 
sick with repletion, unable to fly, its very feathers 
clogged with gore, it made its way down to refreshen 
and clean itself, which when done, to our surprise 
it turned out to be just a common Egyptian 
Vulture. 
Why the Vultures are featherless on neck and 
head is told in an old story in Curzon’s Monasteries 
of the Levant. King Solomon, according to this 
account, was journeying in the heat of the day. 
“The fiery beams were beginning to scorch his 
neck and shoulders when he saw a flock of vultures 
flying past. ‘O Vultures!’ cried King Solomon, 
‘come and fly between me and the sun, and 
make a shadow with your wings to protect me, 
for its rays are scorching my neck and face.’ But 
the Vultures would not, so the King lifted up his 
voice and cursed them, and told them that as 
they would not obey, ‘The feathers of your neck 
shall fall off, and the heat of the sun, and the 
cold of the winter, and the keenness of the wind, 
and the beating of the rain, shall fall upon your 
rebellious necks, which shall not be protected like 
other birds. And whereas you have hitherto fared 
