Birds of the Indian Hills 



and, as the plumage changes with the period 

 of life, it is impossible to differentiate them by- 

 descriptions of their colouring. 



The vultures are perhaps the ugliest of all 

 birds. Most of them have the head devoid of 

 feathers, and they are thus enabled to bury 

 this member in their loathsome food without 

 soiling their feathers. In the air, owing to the 

 magnificent ease with which they fly, they are 

 splendid objects. Their habit is to rise high 

 above the earth and hang motionless in the 

 atmosphere on outstretched wings, or sail in 

 circles without any perceptible motion of the 

 pinions. Vultures are not the only raptorial 

 birds that do this. Kites are almost equally 

 skilled. But kites are distinguished by having 

 a fairly long tail, that of vultures being short 

 and wedge shaped. The sides of the wings of 

 the vultures are straight, and the wings stand 

 out at right angles to the body. In all species, 

 except the scavenger vulture, the tips of the 

 wings are turned up as the birds float or sail in 

 the air, and the ends of the wings are much 

 cut up, looking like fingers. 



Perhaps the commonest vulture of the 



Himalayas is that very familiar fowl — the 



small white scavenger vulture {Neo-phron ging- 



90 



