300 THE BOOK OF BIRDS 



"It is the most elegant of all the tribe, in its plumage, 

 except the King Vulture. The head is not bare, but 

 covered with short glistening white down. The hazel eye 

 is bright and clean, the beak sharp, and the stretch of 

 wing enormous. Round the neck runs a white ruff, and 

 the plumage is a clear tawny and cream colour." 



" The nest of the Griffon Vulture," says the same writer, 

 " is found as far north as the Tyrol ; in the cliffs of the 

 Dobrudscha, where the Danube leaves the last high ground 

 in its course ; and in the mountains of Spain." 



In Spain, recent travellers tell us, there are still to be 

 found not only five different kinds of eagles, but also four 

 kinds of Vultures. The immense pine-forests and the crags 

 and precipices of the sierras are just the kind of home they 

 like. Few footsteps ever invade their neighbourhood — 

 shepherd and goat-herd, gipsy and charcoal-burner are the 

 likeliest comers, but immense tracts of mountain and forest 

 are really unbroken solitudes. 



Mr. R. B. Lodge quite lately penetrated into these 

 wild parts. Some of his experiences must have been 

 thrilling. In his book, he tells of one in particular, which 

 he met with while trying to get within sight of an eagle : — 



" Following our guide, after we had hobbled the donkey 

 at the nearest available spot, we clambered for some dis- 

 tance over a series of huge boulders, by degrees getting 

 higher and higher, until we arrived at the verge of a 

 tremendous cliff. . . . But we could see no signs of any 

 Eagle's nest until I fired a pistol, when out swept, a few 

 yards to our right, with a tremendous rustle of big wing- 

 feathers, not the expected Eagle, but an immense Grifton 

 Vulture. 



"The Griffon had apjDeared from a ledge not far down 

 the precipice, and the next thing was to make an attempt 



