Birds of the Indian Hills 



white scavenger vulture {Neophron ginginianus), 

 which is probably the ugliest bird in the world. 

 Its plumage is dirty white, except the tips of 

 the wings, which are black. The head is not 

 bald, as is the case with most vultures ; it is 

 covered with projecting feathers that form an 

 exceedingly bedraggled crest. The bill, the 

 naked face, and the legs are yellow. This 

 vulture is popularly known as the shawk or 

 Pharaoh's chicken. Young scavenger vultures 

 are sooty brown. 



The other three vultures common on the 

 Nilgiris are the Pondicherry vulture (Otogyps 

 calvus), the long-billed vulture {Gyps indicus), 

 and the white-backed vulture {Pseudogyps ben- 

 galensis). The first is easily identified by 

 means of its white waistcoat, a patch of white 

 on the thighs, and large red wattles that 

 hang down like the ears of a blood-hound. 

 With the above exceptions the plumage is 

 black. 



The long-billed vulture is of a uniform 

 brown-grey colour. 



The white-backed vulture is a dark brown, 

 almost black, bird, with a white back and a 

 broad white band on the under surface of each 

 wing, which is very noticeable when the bird 



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