APPENDIX. i 7 i 



ingly made to, tear up carcafes. The length of the foot 

 to the hinder toe is one inch 6 lines, the innermoft is one 

 inch 7 lines, the middle 2 inches 2 lines, and the laft out- 

 er one t inches one line. 



This bird is all of a black, or rather black mixed with 

 foot-colour; the large feathers of the wing are ten in number, 

 milk-white both without and within. The tip of his wings 

 reaches very nearly to his tail; his beak and head meafu- 

 red together are n inches and a half, and his head 3 inches 

 and a quarter. At his neck he has thofe protuberances 

 like the Turkey-cock, which are light-blue, but turn red 

 upon his being chafed, or in the time the hen is laying, 



I have feen the Erkoom with eighteen young ones ; it 

 runs upon the ground much more willingly than it flies, 

 but when it is raifed, flies both ftrong and far. It has a 

 rank fmell, and is faid to live in Abyffinia upon dead car- 

 cafes. I never faw it approach any of thefe ; and what con- 

 vinces me this is untrue, is, that I never faw one of them 

 follow the army, where there was always a general afTcmbly 

 of all the birds of prey in Abyilinia. 



It was very eafy to fee what was its food, by its place of 

 rendezvous, which was in the fields of teiF, upon the tops 

 of which are always a number of green beetles, thefe he 

 ftrips off by drawing the ftalk through his beak, and which 

 Operation wears his beak fo that it appears to be ferrated, 

 and, often as I had occafion to open this bird, I never found 

 in him any thing but the green fcarabeus, or beetle. He 

 has a putrid or {linking fmell, which I fuppofe is the rea- 

 fon he has been imagined to feed upon carrion. 



Vol. V. A a - Thi 



