BEARDED VULTURE. 19 



the following notes of this bird: — "Specimens from 

 Algeria and the Caucasus are identical with the Euro- 

 pean. Those from Abyssinia differ from the above in 

 having the lower part of the tarsus bare of feathers; 

 this race is called G. meridionalis , and is said to be 

 also found in Arabia and the Cape of Good Hope. 

 Specimens from the Himalaya Mountains do not differ 

 from those of Europe, Algeria, and the Caucasus, 

 when adult, but the young birds in the Himalaya have 

 the peculiarity of a row of small feathers running 

 down the outer side of the middle toe, half way down 

 the first joint. This disappears when the bird becomes 

 adult. 



I do not know whether this peculiarity also occurs 

 in specimens from the Altaic range, and from China. 

 In the Himalayas and Abyssinia it appears to be 

 much more familiar in its habits than in Europe, 

 approaching some of the Vultures in this respect, 

 probably from being less persecuted." 



The adult male and female have the body above of 

 a greyish brown, with a white or yellow line upon the 

 middle of a great number of the feathers; lower part 

 of the body white, tinged with a more or less lively 

 red; top of the head white, bounded at the back by a 

 bluish line, which surrounds the eyes, and goes on 

 gradually increasing till it is lost among the hair which 

 covers the cere and the nostrils; neck of a very light 

 red. Tail feathers ash brown, with the shafts white; 

 tail very much graduated. Beak black; iris white, 

 inclined to yellow; free edge of the eyelids red; toes 

 livid. The female has the hairs of the chin and the 

 tibial feathers shorter than the male and stronger. 



Young bird, first year dark brown approaching to 

 black on the neck, and to reddish grey on the chest 



