24 0 The Lammekgeyeu. 15IKDS. The Conuou. 
offal of the beasts slaughtered, or on the carcasses of the 
camels which die by the way. In India the bird seems 
to have exactly the same habits ; and Colonel Sykes 
states that they are always found in cantonments and 
camps. They pass nearly the whole day on the wing, 
sailing round in circles. Their efficiency as scavengers 
is also recognized in India. 
THE LAMMERGEYER [Gypaetos harbatus) — Plate 2, 
fig. 4 — which is also frequently called the Bearded 
Vulture^ is a remarkable species of this family, forming, 
both in its characters and habits so striking a transi- 
tion towards the eagles, that it has even been arranged 
with the latter by some naturalists, whilst others have 
constituted a distinct family for its reception. As, 
however, its most important characters are decidedly 
vulturine, we have preferred placing it at the end of 
the eastern vultures. 
The principal distinctive characters of the genus 
Gypaetos, to which the Lammergeyer belongs, consist 
in the strong, compressed, and greatly-hooked beak, in 
the presence of a singular heard-llke tuft of stiff' bristles 
under the lower mandible, and of a patch of similar 
bristles, covering the base of the upper mandible on 
each side, and concealing both the cere and the oval 
oblique nostrils which are pierced in it. The tarsi are 
short and clothed with feathers; and the claws are 
sti'onger and more curved than in the other vultures. 
The head and neck are entirely clothed with feathers. 
The Lammergeyer is one of the largest birds of 
prey, attaining a length of about four feet, and mea- 
suring nine or ten feet in expanse of wing. Individuals 
have been described exceeding even these dimensions, 
and measuring from twelve to fifteen feet from tip to 
tip of the wings. The plumage of the upper part of 
the body, is of a dull brown colour, mixed with grey ; 
the wings and tail are of a greyish tint; the neck, 
breast, and belly are whitish, more or less tinged with 
j^ellow or orange ; and the head is dirty white, with a 
black hand on each side. The bristles of the heard 
and face are also black, as are the claws. These are 
the general characters of the species ; but they are 
liable to some variation in specimens from different 
regions, and these have induced several modern ornitho- 
logists to describe three or four sj)ecies of these birds. 
The distinctions of size and colour upon which they 
rely for the discrimination of these so-called species, 
are, however, very slight, and may probably be due 
to geographical cii'cumstances ; we therefore jjrefer 
regarding all the northern Liimmergeyers at any rate, 
as belonging to one species. 
This fine bird inhabitants the mountainous regions 
of Southern Europe and North Africa, and extends its 
range in Asia to the Caucasus, the Altai mountains, and 
the Himalayas. In its carriage and aspect it greatly 
resembles the eagles, as it does also in its habits; for, 
unlike the preceding vultures, it evinces no liking for 
carrion, but, on the contrary, })refers its meat fresh- 
killed. To satisfy this craving, it is endowed with a 
far more audacious and warlike disposition than the 
jieaceful birds whose characters we have hitherto been 
considering, and the weapons with which nature has 
armed it are also of a far more formidable character. 
It feeds principally upon quadrupeds, such as rabbits. 
hares, sheep, lambs, and kids, which its powerful beak 
and talons enable it to overcome easily ; and its Swiss 
name of Lammergeyer (signifying Lamb- Vulture), suf- 
ficiently expresses the sense which the Alpine shep- 
herds entertain of its predilection for the tenderer part 
of their flocks. It is also said sometimes to attack the 
chamois, or even man himself ; but when attempting 
any such doubtful enterprise as this, it waits until its 
intended victim is close to a precipice, and then de- 
scending upon it with irresistible velocity, sweeps it off 
into the abyss below. Both in Europe and India 
stories are current of children being carried off by the 
Lammergeyer ; but these want confirmation. In the 
latter country, according to Mr. Hodgson, the habits of 
the birds approach more nearly to those of the ordinary 
vultures than appears to be the case in Europe ; and 
they come in flocks to devour carrion of all sorts, with- 
out the least regard to the presence of man. The same 
gentleman tells us that, in the vicinity of Simla and 
elsewhere on the western hills, the flesh-pots, in which 
cooking is carried on in the open air, require to be well 
watched, lest the Bearded vulture steal a share of their 
contents ; and Bruce, in his “ Travels in Abyssinia,” 
relates a story of this nature which applies either to tins 
or the follorving species. 
The Bearded vulture builds no nest, but deposits 
its eggs upon the bare rock ; these are two or three in 
number, of an oval form with one end rather acute ; 
their colour is a bluish-white, covered with smaller and 
larger spots of reddish-brown and ochreous yellow. 
THE AFRICAN BEARDED VULTURE {Gypaetos 
7iudipes) appears to merit being regarded as a distinct 
species, as the lower part of its tarsi is bare of feathers, 
a character of more importance than a slight diversity 
of colour. It is found in Abyssinia, and in the more 
southern parts- of Africa. This is probably the bird 
alluded to by Bruce, which, he says, is called Afecr 
Werk in Ethiopic, and Abou Duchir or Father Long- 
beard by the Arabs. Bruce gives the following account 
of the audacity of this bird. While his servants were 
eating their dinner in the open air on the top of a high 
mountain, with several dishes of boiled goats’ flesh 
before them, one of these birds suddenly made his 
appearance. 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 made 
round it. A great shout was raised, when the bird 
slowly retired ; but he soon came up again, and was 
shot within a short distance of the party. Dr. Both 
says, that the Abyssinian species “ smells dreadfully 
from its mode of living,” and “ takes a great quantity 
of water.” 
THE CONDOR (Sarcorhamjdnis GrypTius)—fig. 97, 
page 241. — The first of the American vultures to which 
we shall allude, is one of the most remarkable and cele- 
brated species of this family. The nostrils in the Ameri- 
can vultures are pierced through, as has already been 
stated, from side to side of the beak. In the Condor 
and another species belonging to the same genus, they 
are surmounted in the males by a large fleshy car- 
uncle, which, in the former, constitutes a comb some- 
what resembling that of a cock. The bill in these 
birds is very strong, and much hooked at the extremity. 
