EIGHTH DAY. 137 
nest flew up into the branches, and the vulture slowly rose 
without showing any great signs of alarm, shook out its wings, 
and flew deliberately down the hillside. 
‘Vexed at my mishap, I wanted to hurry away from the 
place, as I thought I should not get another chance for several 
hours, but the forester besought me to remain and to seat 
myself nearer the nest. I did as he wished, and even before I 
could conceal myself in my newly selected place, I heard the 
grunting croaking cry of the vulture. It is an extraordinary 
noise, unlike the call of any other bird of prey, and in the even- 
ing this hoarse croak of the Cinereous Vulture, accompanied 
by the dull heavy beats of its wings, sounds very strange. 
I had hardly looked up when there was a rush over my head, 
and the enormous female vulture was standing erect on the 
_ edge of the nest. I took a quick aim, but just at the instant 
that I pulled, it crept into its nest and the ball passed over it. 
A loud bustle among the branches instantly followed, and 
again the great bird flew off and circled slowly round me. 
The forester, taking an accurate view of the situation, now 
said that the vulture must have an egg which was on the 
point of hatching, and begged me not to leave the nest, con- 
soling me with the idea that the bird would come back in a 
few minutes; so I sat down just where I was, close to a thorny 
bush in the open, without any cover, and directed him to 
leave the place and walk carelessly past the nest towards our 
carts. 
Meanwhile the male had also come up, and both the vul- 
tures circled, croaking, round us; but before the forester 
had gone a couple of hundred paces one of them again 
drew in its wings and flew to the tree as fast as its heavy 
build would allow. It settled on a thick branch near the nest, 
but noticed my position, and no sooner had it seen me than it 
at once spread its pinions and vanished among the branches 
of the nearest tree before I could get another shot. I now hit 
