Accii'iTKES. BIRDS. -Vulturida:. 239 
This species inhabits the same districts as the preceding, 
and appears to he almost equally abundant with it. It 
is not, however, gregarious, more than two being rarely 
seen together. It builds its nest in trees. Although 
the Pondicherry vxdture and the Bengal vulture are 
nearly of the same size, the former appears to have the 
power of inspiring some kind of dread in his brother 
scavenger; for whenever he descends upon a carcass on 
which a crowd of Bengal vultures are feeding, they 
immediately make way for him and retire from the 
banquet until he is satisfied — a proceeding which has 
obtained for the present species the name of the King 
Vulture, both from Europeans and natives. 
THE SOCIABLE VULTURE {Otogyps auriacularis), 
one of the largest of the species inhabiting the Old W orld, 
is an inhabitant of the interior of the Cape of Good 
Hope, and apparently of the eastern parts of Africa in 
general, as it is found also in Egypt, Abyssinia, and 
Nubia. It was discovered in the first-mentioned locality 
by the celebrated French traveller and naturalist, Le 
Vaillant, who gives the following account of the first 
specimen that he met with: — “On the carcass of a 
hippopotamus,” says Le Vaillant, “ there was a magni- 
ficent vulture busily engaged in devourmg it. I had 
never seen such a large one. When I wounded it, 
although already gorged with a great quantity of flesh, 
as its crop contained six pounds and a half when I 
dissected it, its greediness was such, that in attempting 
to fly away, it tore off a fragment of its prey, as if 
desirous of carrying the whole away with it. On the 
other hand, the weight of the flesh which it had just 
devoured made it heavy, and prevented it from taking 
flight easily. We had time to reach it before it flew 
away, and endeavoured to kill it with the butt ends of 
our guns; but it defended itself for a long time with the 
greatest intrepidity, biting our guns or pecking at them 
with its beak.” 
This fine bird measures about five feet in length, and 
its expanse of wing is upwards of eleven feet. Its head 
and neck are naked and of a reddish colour, tinged 
here and there vrith blue, violet, and white ; the general 
plumage is blackish-bro-wn, and the frill surrounding 
the base of the neck is of the same colour; the feathers 
of the lower part of the body are crisped so as to exhibit 
the white down with which the skin is clothed. The 
beak is horn-coloured, with a yellow cere. The folds 
of skin on the head and neck are very striking in this 
species ; they commence behind the ears, round which 
they form a sort of irregular conch ; they then pass 
down the neck for several inches. From this peculiar 
structure, which is referred to in both the scientific 
names of the bird, Le Vaillant gave it the French name 
of Oricou, or Eared-neck. 
The Sociable vulture is an inhabitant of the mountains, 
(vhere the numerous caves and fissures furnish it with 
a good shelter in which to pass the night, or to repose 
during the day, after a full meal. At sunrise they are 
seen perched upon the rocks in large bands ; and from 
these stations they soar into the air to such a height as 
to become quite invisible. But, even at their greatest 
elevation, they seem still to keep a sharp look out upon 
the occurrences in the world below them; for no sooner 
does an animal die than the vultures are upon it, 
“ seeming,” as Le Vaillant expresses it, “ to escape from 
a cavern in the sky.” If a hunter kill an animal which 
he cannot remove at once, he will find on his return 
that the vultures are already busy on its carcase, 
although a quarter of an hour previously not one was 
to be seen in the neighbourhood. 
This bird builds its nest in the caverns of the rocks ; 
and the different pairs agree so well together, that two 
or three nests may sometimes be found in the same 
cave. The female lays two or three eggs which are of 
a bluish-white colour, with numerous large spots or 
patches of reddish-brown, especially towards the larger 
end. During the period of incubation the male birds 
keep watch at the entrance of the cavern ; and the 
interior presents a most disgusting spectacle, and is 
infected by an intolerable stench. 
THE EGYPTIAN VULTURE {Neophron per cnopterus) 
— Plate 1, fig. 3 — is a third species which occurs com- 
monly in the south of Europe ; but it extends its visits 
further to the north, having been killed even in Norway. 
It is especially abundant in Greece, Arabia, and Egypt, 
but is also met with in great numbers in India, and is 
stationary all the year round in Spain, Italy, and the 
south of France. Indi\'iduals have also been killed in 
England. It is the bird popularly Imown as Pharaoh's 
chicken. 
The characteristics of the genus Neophron consist 
in the great development of cere, which occupies two- 
thirds of the length of the beak; in the elongated longi- 
tudinal nostrils; and in the nakedness of the face and 
throat, while the back of the head and neck are clothed 
with feathers. The present species is smaller than any 
of those that we have described, measuring only about 
two feet and a half in length; its plumage is white, with 
the extremities of the wings black ; the naked skin of 
the face and throat is yellow, the beak lead colour, the 
feet yellow, and the claws black. 
The Egyptian vulture huilds its nest, like the pre- 
ceding species, amongst the rocks, and lays from two 
to four eggs of a white colour, but usually more or less 
spotted with brownish-red. It seeks its food, however, 
principally in the towns and villages, wheiu it feeds 
promiscuously with the dogs and jackals on the carcasses 
of animals and other putrefying filth, which appeal’s 
to be so peculiarly abundant about the habitations of 
eastern nations. Its natural appearance is by no means 
prepossessing, and its plumage is constantly daubed 
over with the filth amongst which it finds its nourish- 
ment; so that it constitutes a most disgusting object to 
the eye. Nevertheless its useful properties are so well 
recognized by the mhabitants of the countries in which 
it principally occurs, that it would be almost a crime 
there to kill one of these birds ; and in Cairo legacies 
have been left by many wealthy men, for the purpose 
of providing the vultures, and their brother scavengers 
the kites, ■with supplies of fresh meat, in order, no doubt, 
to induce them to remain permanent residents in the 
city. This meat is distributed, according to Hasselquist, 
every morning and evening in the great square where 
criminals are executed ; and here the birds assemble 
regularly to receive their expected meal. These vrd- 
tures are also said annually to accompany the caravan 
to Mecca across the deserts, in order to feed on the 
