304 THE BOOK OF BIRDS 



both sides of the neck, from the ears downwards, of a rich 

 scarlet. . . . The crown of the head is scarlet. Close by 

 the ear there is a part which has a fine silvery-blue 

 appearance. The bill is orange and black." It is only 

 the mature bird that is arrayed in these bright colours. 



This is one of the smaller Vultures. It does not seem 

 to be very abundant, and very little is known about it. 

 There is or was a specimen at the London Zoo. 



Another gaily coloured bird is the Pondicherry Vulture. 

 Listen to this description by a recent writer ; it sounds 

 gorgeous enough for one of the parrot tribe : " It is a 

 very striking-looking bird. The skin of the head is like 

 pale pink sealing-wax ; the eye is dark ; the beak is like a 

 bill-hook. The broad feathers in which it is arrayed as 

 in armour are dark grey, creamy brown and black, and 

 the rounded tips of these feathers, edged with black, give 

 it the appearance of being clad in scales of damasked steel. 

 The legs are pale pink." 



But of all the Vultures perhaps the LAMMERGEIER 

 is the most interesting to young people. For this is the 

 Vulture about which, from time to time, strange but true 

 stories have been told, as to its carrying off babies and 

 tiny children to its nest. 



Such incidents are not common, and unbelievers have 

 laughed at the idea, pointing out that the comparative 

 weakness of a Vulture's clutch would make such an act 

 impossible. It is quite true that a Vulture's grip is not 

 that of an Eagle, but there are well-proven cases of such 

 kidnapping having occurred from time to time. Some 

 of these I will mention later on. 



The Lammergeier or Bearded Vulture (so called 

 from the curious tuft, of stiff bristles under its beak) is 

 one of those grand fierce creatures of prey which were 



