VULTUEES. 
11 
endued with that courage which prompts most of the accipi- 
trine birds to attack a Hving prey. 
The Lsemmergeyer {^GypaeUis larhatus) belongs to this 
family^ and seems to form a link connecting it with the 
Falconida, The head^ unlike that of the more typical vul- 
tures^ is covered with feathers^ the beak is strongs straight, 
much hooked at the point, while the nostrils, much as in 
the owls, are covered with stiff hairs directed forwards; the 
specific name is derived from a beard of hairs under the 
beak. This species inhabits the Alps and other lofty ranges 
of mountains in Europe and Asia, and is said to pursue 
goats, chamois, and other animals to the extremity of a 
precipice, over which they fall and are killed, when they 
become its prey. 
" Wherever the carcase is,^^ in tropical climates, the vul- 
tures are gathered together.^'' How descriptively is this al- 
luded to in Holy Writ ! How vividly is it more than once 
sculptured and depicted on the slabs, brought by Layard 
from the mounds which once constituted Nineveh ! true 
^Westiges of creation.''^ On these slabs, birds, fishes, qua- 
drupeds, and even reptiles, are figured with all but specific 
exactitude, and often represented, as in the case of the vul- 
ture, in the exercise of their instincts. On one slab there 
