Q SOCIABLE VULTURE. 
Specific Characters.—Head thick, rounded; cutaneous folds below 
the auditory opening in the adults; legs covered only with down; 
the internal toe equal nearly to half the middle. Length four 
feet and upwards.—DrcGLanp. 
Tus bird is placed among those of Europe by M. 
Temminck, and after him by Schlegel and Degland. 
In deference to such high authorities, I introduce it 
into this work. Serious doubts have, however, been 
raised against the position thus assigned to it by these 
eminent naturalists. 
M. Temminck states that it occurs in Greece, particu- 
larly in the neighbourhood of Athens. M. Le Comte 
Von Der Miihle, the author of a work upon the birds 
observed by him during a five years residence in Greece, 
says, however, that he never observed it there, and he 
expresses an opinion that the skins which have been 
received from that country, have really been obtained 
in Egypt. Lindermayer also observes that he has not 
found it in Greece. Bonaparte leaves it out of the 
European list, and Dr. Riippell seems to think the 
species as European is purely nominal. On the other 
hand M. Crespon, the author of “La Faune Meridionale 
de la France,” has introduced it into his list, on the 
authority of M. Barthelemy, Curator of the Museum of 
Marseilles, who asserts that the specimen in that estab- 
lishment was killed in the mountains of Provence. From 
some valuable notes upon the raptorial birds, with which 
I have been kindly favoured by J. H. Gurney, Esq., 
of Catton, Norfolk, whose great knowledge of this 
section of ornithology is well known, and I may add, 
equally well illustrated in his magnificent collection in 
the Norwich Museum, I extract the following :— 
“T hold this species to be identical with V. nubicus 
of Smith, and V. Agyptius of Temminck. I believe 
