VULTURES. 
253 
specimen having been found poisoned in the winter of 1887. This was a female 
which had been known to haunt the Bietsch Horn for some twenty-five years pre¬ 
viously, its mate having been killed in 1862. It is stated, however, that a single 
bird was seen in Switzerland in 1888. In the Italian Alps the lammergeier is still 
met with, while in Spain and the Caucasus it is abundant. I 11 the Himalaya these 
splendid birds may be seen in numbers during the spring in the outer ranges, 
especially in the neighbourhood of the hill-station of Mari, but in the summer they 
migrate northwards to Kashmir, Baltistan, Ladak, etc. Usually a shy bird, in the 
neighbourhood of Abbotabad the lammergeiers became quite accustomed to the 
shooting on a rifle-range, and would approach close to the men. When driven 
down by cold and bad weather they will often collect in numbers round the 
military hill-camps to feed on the offal. Circumstantial stories of attacks by 
Alpine lammergeiers on children will be found in many works; but, as Mr. H. 
Saunders remarks, those who have examined the weak feet of those birds will form 
their own opinion as to their credibility. With regard to their alleged depredations 
on flocks, an anonymous observer writes in the Asian that “ I never heard of the 
Himalayan lammergeier attacking anything, and in Kashmir have often watched 
them passing over flocks of goats, on one occasion close over some female ibex with 
kids. Also in Dagshai I frequently observed them sail round within a few yards of 
fowls and tame pigeons, but never saw them attempt a raid on any living thing, 
always contenting themselves with bones thrown out after the soldiers’ dinners, or 
with offal from the slaughter-houses.” Mr. R Thompson also had a similar experi¬ 
ence in the Himalaya, mentioning, that although these birds never molested the 
fowls and pigeons picketed as lures for hawks, they would always come down to a 
carcase or a heap of bones. The lammergeier seems indeed to be specially partial 
to bones, which it will sometimes drop from a great height on to rocks in order to 
smash them; while in Algeria it is stated to do the same with tortoises. I 11 Spain 
these birds are commonly known by the name of bone - smasher; and there is 
little doubt that the “ ossifrage ” of Scripture refers to this bird. All these traits 
of character strongly confirm the view that the lammergeier is a vulture rather 
than an eagle; and Mr. Hume considers that its general habits and gait, more 
especially its manner of walking and holding its tail when feeding on the ground, 
ally it to the scavenger-vultures. In the Himalaya the lammergeier breeds from 
November to February, selecting almost inaccessible ledges for the construction of 
its nest, at elevations of five thousand feet and upwards. Mr. Thompson states 
that “ the nest, a huge platform, some four or five feet in diameter, is constructed 
of small sticks and thick twigs, placed so as to form a footing for the young, and 
is lined with pieces of cloth, rags, etc.” There is usually, both in the Himalaya 
and the Atlas, but a single egg to a nest; although, rarely, a pair may be met 
with The eerers are oval, and rather small for the size of the bird, with their 
00 
external surface dull and chalkjq of a buff' ground-colour, often clouded with darker 
markings. The young bird has been known to remain in the nest for upwards 
of four months. 
Cinereous The typical representative of the true vultures, and the only 
vulture. living member of its genus, is the common cinereous or black vulture 
(Vultur monachus), of which figures are given in the accompanying Plate, which 
