8 
CATALOGUE. 
Providence for this bird. All the places round Cairo are filled with 
the dead bodies of asses and camels ; and thousands of these birds 
fly about and devour the carcases, before they putrefy and fill the air 
with noxious exhalations. The inhabitants of Egypt, and after them 
Maillet, in his description of Egypt, say, that they yearly follow 
the caravan to Mecca, and devour the filth of the slaughtered beasts 
and the carcases of the camels which die on the way ; but I have 
not been an eyewitness of this. They do not fly high, nor are they 
afraid of men. If one is killed, all the rest surround him, in the same 
manner as do the Eoyston crows ; they do not quit the places they 
frequent, though frightened by the explosion of a gun, but imme- 
diately return thither. The Arabians call it Rochaeme." — (Hassel- 
quist, Travels in the Levant, p. 194.) 
9. NEOPHRON PILEATUS, Burchell Sp. 
Vultur pileatus, Burch., Trav. S. Afr. p. 194. 
Neophron pileatus, G. JR. Gray, Gen. of Birds, I. ^. 3 ; 
Gat. B. Brit. Mus. p. 8. Bonap., O. G. Av., p. 11. 
Cathartes monachus, Temm., Bl. Gol. 222. 
Percnopterus niger. Less., Tr. d'Orn. p. 29. 
Neophron carunculatus, Smith, S. Afr. Quarterly Journ. 
II. p. 253. 
A. Abyssinia. From Sir W. Harris's Collection. 
The Indian vultures exhibit in their habits and mode of life all the 
characteristic features which have been observed of this family in 
other countries. They feed almost exclusively on carrion and putrid 
animal matter, and they render most useful services to other living 
beings, by removing offensive substances and purifying the air. 
Their external form is lax and disgusting, and they sit in a slouching 
attitude, scarcely resembling living creatures. Their claws are pro- 
portionally small, their feet formed more for sitting than prehension ; 
they are destitute of the means of attack and defence possessed 
by eagles and other rapacious birds, and they consume their food on 
the spot, and having filled their capacious craw, they carry the 
contents to their nests to feed the young. Their bill is large, strong, 
and of greater height than breadth. The head and neck are generally 
naked, or covered with a short down, and the neck is often long and 
slender. Although they live in solitary pairs, they assemble in large 
numbers whenever a dead body is discovered by them. They form 
their eyries on inaccessible rocks or on high trees. Their flight, 
