16 



BEARDED VULTURE; 



being only four inches from the joining of the foot 

 to where the leg joins the thigh, and from the 

 joint of the thigh to the joining of his body six 

 inches. The thickness of his thigh was httle less 

 than four inches ; it was extremely muscular, and 

 covered with flesh. His middle claw was about 

 two inches and a half long, not very sharp at the 

 point, but extremely strong. From the root of 

 the bill to the point was three inches and a quarter, 

 and one inch and three quarters in breadth at the 

 root. A forked brush of strong hair, divided at 

 the point into two, proceeded from the cavity of 

 his lower jaw at the beginning of his throat. He 

 had the smallest eye I ever remember to have 

 seen in a large bird, the aperture being scarcely 

 half an inch. The crown of his head was bare or 

 bald, so was the front where the bill and scull 

 joined." 



" This noble bird was not an object of any chace 

 or pursuit, nor stood in need of any stratagem to 

 bring him within our reach. Upon the highest 

 top of the mountain Lamalmon, while my servants 

 were refreshing themselves from that toilsome 

 rugged ascent, and enjoying the pleasure of a 

 most delightful climate, eating their dinner in the 

 outer air, with several large dishes of boiled goats 

 flesh before them, this enemy, as he turned out to 

 be to them, appeared suddenly ; he did not stoop 

 rapidly from a height, but came flying slowly along 

 the ground, and sat down close to the meat within 

 the ring the men had jnade round it. A great 

 shout, or rather cry of distress, called me to the 



