20 Notice of the Himalayan Vulture Eagle* [Jan 



II, — Notice of the Himalayan Vulture Eagle, By Lieut. T. Hutton. 



In a former notice of this bird, drawn up from the examination of an 

 injured and decaying specimen, I pointed out characters which I thought 

 would entitle it to be ranked as a new and distinct species from that 

 known as the Gypaetos Barbatus, or Bearded Vulture. 



I have since that time had opportunities of examining many recently 

 killed specimens in various stages of plumage, from the yearling to the 

 adult bird, and the result of my observations during nearly two years, 

 is to leave me still farther convinced of the correctness of my conjecture 

 as to its distinctness from the Lammer Geyer of the Swiss, and the 

 Bearded Vulture of authors. 



Mr. Hodgson, in a paper subsequent to my former notice, describes 

 a Himalayan Gypaetos, and pronounces it to be the European Bird, but 

 I think I shall be able to show that the subject of the present paper 

 possesses two constant characters, which are wanting in the former 

 bird, and which, being constant, I believe to be sufficient to entitle their 

 possessor to rank as a species new to science. 



The characters I allude to, are, the dark gorget at the bottom of the 

 neck, across the orange of the under parts, which is always wanting 

 in the G. Barbatus, or of which at least no mention is made by any 

 author that I have been able to consult* ; — and the relation which the 

 first prime quill bears to the length of the third. 



Mr. Hodgson's bird, though stated to the contrary by him, I should 

 conjecture to have been immature, as well as under moult; for he des- 

 cribes it as possessing brown feathers about the neck, which in the adult 

 bird is never the case ; and moreover he gives the fourth quill longest, 

 which character if correct and constant would at once distinguish it, 

 not only from the present subject, but also from the known Bearded 

 Vulture, in both of which the third quill is the longest. 



Mr. Hodgson asks also, in his postscript, in reference to my descrip- 

 tion, " Is there not here some undue allowance for shrinking in his old 

 and mutilated specimen?" My answer is, ' On the contrary, I supposed 

 an unskilful hand to have stretched it in skinning, and consequently 

 erring on the safe side, gave 9| feet of expanse, or less than the actual 

 measurement.' 



The reason for asking this question, is not however quite apparent, 

 since he has in the same paper allowed it to be probable that the bird 

 may attain an expanse of eleven feet, or eighteen inches more than 

 mine. 



* Brisson: Cuvier: Gardens and Menagerie Zoological Society: Stark's Ele- 

 ments Nat. Hist. Encyclopaedia Metropolitana, &c. 



