EGYPTIAN VULTURE. 11 



VULTUR PERCNOPTERUS. 

 EGYPTIAN VULTURE. 



(Plate 1.) 



Vnltiir fu'cus, Bi-iss. Orn. i. p. 4-")5 (1700). 



Vultui- seg'yptius, Brhs. Orn. i. p. 4.j7 (1760). 



Vultiir leucocephalos, BrisK. Orn. i. p. 466 (1760) ; Gmel, Syst. Nat. i. p. 248 (178K). 



A'ultur percnopterus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 123 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum— 



(TemmincJc), (Naununin), {Gould), {Oray), (^Newton), (Sharpe), &c. 

 Vultur alimoch, La Peyr. M. et Ois. de la H. Garunne, p. 10 (17t»l.)). 

 ^'ultu^ stercorarius, La Peyr. he. cit. (1700). 

 Vultur albua, Baud. Traite d'Orn. ii. p. 21 (1800). 

 Neophron percnopterus (Linn.), Sav. Ois. de I'Eyypte, p. 16 (1810). 

 Cathartes percnopterus (Linn.), Teimn. Man. d'Orn. i. p. 8 (1820). 

 Catbartes meleagrides (Pall), Temm. PL Cd. i. genre Catharte (1824). 

 Vultur meleagris, Pall. Zoogr. Posso-Jxinf. i. p. :j77 (1826). 

 Percnopterus ifigyptiacus, Ste2>h. Shatu's Gen. Zool. xiii. pt. ii. p. 7 (1826). 

 Xeophron fegyptiacus (S/eph.), Smith, S. Afr. Q. Journ. i. p. 16 (]y20). 



At least three specimens of the Egyptian Vulture have been recorded 

 from Great Britain ; and two of these examples have been captured. In 

 October 1825 two examples of this Vulture were seen near Kilve in 

 Somersetshire ; and one of them was eventually shot, and was obtained by 

 the Rev. A. Matthew, who is quoted by ^'arrell as follows : — " When first 

 discovered it was feeding upon the carcass of a dead sheep, and had so 

 gorged itself with carrion as to be unable or unwilling to fly to any great 

 distance at a time, and was therefore approached without much difficulty 

 and shot. Another bird similar to it in appearance was seen at the same 

 time upon wing at no great distance, which remained in the neighbour- 

 hood a few days, but could never be approached within range, and which 

 was supposed to be the mate of the one killed." The other instance was 

 recorded in the 'Zoologist^ for November 1868, p. 1456, by Mr. C. R. 

 Bree, as follows : — " On the 28th of September last the labourer who had 

 charge of an off-hand farm of Mr. Woollard, of Stanway Hall, situated at 

 Peldon, Essex, had been killing his Michaelmas geese. On going some 

 time after into the yard where said geese had been slaughtered, he 

 saw a strange bird feeding upon the blood. The bird flew away, and the 

 man loaded his gun. Presently the bird came and hovered over the spot, 

 in hopes of another spell at the blood ; but his fate was sealed, and he fell 

 dead to the labourer's shot. I saw the bird next day at the house of Mr. 

 Ambrose, of this place, to whom it had been sent for preservation. Mr. 

 Woollard has since kindly furnished me with the above information. As 

 far as I know, this is only the second instance of the capture of Vultur 

 percnopterus in Great Britain, the first having been shot on the shores of 



