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cast of yellow; the legs and feet pale flesh-colour; but 
what constitutes the peculiar ornament of the bird is the 
vivid colouring of the head and neck, which are bare of 
feathers. This beautiful species is a native of many parts of 
South America, and the West Indies. 
4. Vultur monachus, or monk vulture. — With gibbous 
crown, and black body; or brown vulture, with lengthened 
ruff, and downy occipital crest. This is the crested black 
vulture of Edwards; the cinereous or Arabian vulture of 
Latham; and vautour, or grand vautour of Buffon. This 
bird is an inhabitant, of the deserts of Arabia, and is said to 
be not uncommon in the Pyrenean mountains. 
5. Vultur aura, or the brown-greyish vulture.—With black 
wing-feathers, and white bill; or blackish vulture, with 
purple and green reflexions, and red, naked, papillated 
and wrinkled head and neck. The vautour de Brasil of 
Buffon. 
This species, with some variations, appears to be generally 
diffused over the whole continent of South America, but 
mostly in the warmer regions. In some parts of British 
America it is popularly called the turkey-buzzard, and in 
other parts carrion-crow. It is somewhat smaller than a 
turkey; it feeds on every kind of animal matter, and is 
highly esteemed in the West Indies on account of its activity 
in clearing away substances that might otherwise render the 
air noxious in those warm climates. In consequence of this 
mode of life, the birds themselves have always a very offen¬ 
sive odour. According to Mr. Pennant, these birds are com¬ 
mon from Nova Scotia to Terra del Fuego, and though they 
are mischievous in attacking and destroying cattle in a weak 
or diseased state, they are beneficial in lessening the number 
of alligators, which would otherwise become intolerable by 
their multitudes. 
6. Vultur cinereus, or the brown-blackish vulture.^-With 
wing and tail-feathers verging towards cinereous, and legs 
covered with brown feathers. This is referred by Shaw to 
the vultur monachus. It is the vultur cinereus of Ray; the 
cinereous or ash-coloured vultur of Willughby and Latham. 
—It inhabits high mountains of Europe. Gmelin suggests 
it to be a variety of percnopterus. 
7. Vultur fuscus, orthebrown vultur.—With wing-feathers 
brown or blackish, the primary white at the apex spotted 
with brown, and tail-feathers grey-brown, and naked legs. 
—This is the vautour de Malta of Buffon, and found in 
Europe, chiefly in the island of Malta. Gmelin questions 
whether it be different from the percnopterus. 
8. Vultur niger, or black vulture.—With wing and tail- 
feathers brown, and legs covered with black feathers. This 
is described as larger than the golden vulture, of a black 
colour, and is said to be common in Egypt and Sardinia. 
Gmelin suggests that it is a variety of percnopterus, and 
Dr. Shaw also inclines to think that it is a variety. 
9. Vultur leucocephalus.—With snowy feathers, wing 
and tail black, with a white ruff. This is the white or cine¬ 
reous vulture of Willughby, and the vautour de Norvege of 
Buffon; found in Sardinia and Norway; and suggested to 
be a variety. 
10. Vultur fulvus.—From grey to reddish above, head, 
neck, and ruff white, wing andtail-feathers black; or fulvous- 
chesnut vulture, with black wing and tail-feathers, downy 
whitish head and neck, and white ruff. This is the vultur 
fulvus of Brisson, the fulvous vultur and golden vultur of 
Willughby, and le griffon of Buffon. This is one of the 
largest of the genus, exceeding the size of the golden eagle. 
The general colour of the plumage, when the bird is in its 
best state, is a full rufous or tawny chesnut; the legs and 
feet are ash-coloured.—This bird, often confounded with 
others, is found in the mountains of Persia. 
11. Vultur percnopterus.-—With black wing-feathers, 
the exterior margin, that of the outmost excepted, grey¬ 
ish or hoary; white vultur (the female brownish) with 
lengthened narrow beak, naked face, and black wing-feathers 
with grey edges. This is the vultur (percnopterus) with 
naked head and plump throat, or Egyptian mountain-falcon 
of Hasselquist; the aquiline vulture of Albin.; thevulterine 
T U R. 
eagle of Aldrovand.; and the rachamah of Bruce’s Travels. 
Its size, according to Gesner, is that of a stork. Shaw thinks 
it probable, that the rachamah of Bruce, the Angola vulture 
of Pennant, the ash-coloured vulture of Latham, and the petit 
vautour or vautour de Norvege of Buffon, are in reality the 
same species, and constitute the male vultur percnopterus 
of Linnaeus. He also inclines to believe that the Maltese 
vulture of Latham, or vautour de Norvege of Buffon, is merely 
the female of this species. If this be the case, the vultur 
percnoptures seems to be a pretty general inhabitant of the 
old continent, being found not only in many of the temper¬ 
ate and warmer parts of Europe, but in various parts of Asia 
and Africa. It is plentiful in Egypt, where it is estemed for 
its beneficial services in destroying various putrid substances 
in the vicinity of towns and cities. Its general size is that 
of a female turkey, but in this respect it varies in different 
countries. The male also varies in the cast of its colour, 
which is sometimes nearly white, and sometimes a dirty pale 
rufous-white; the quills are black, but the secondaries are 
externally of the same colour with the rest of the plumage. 
The female is said to exceed the male in size. 
12. Vultur cristatus, or the crested vulture.—From reddish 
to blackish, the breast more inclining to red, the legs naked. 
This is the brown vulture of Willughby and Latham.—It 
is found in thick and desert forests. 
13. Vultur Barbaras, or barbatus.—The vulture brown to 
black, underneath white inclining to brown, woolly legs, 
lead-coloured toes, and brown nails; or blackish-brown 
vulture, subfulvous beneath, with the head and neck covered 
by lanceolate whitish plumes, and the bill bearded beneath. 
This vulture is said to build in the inaccessible cavities of 
lofty rocks, and they sometimes assemble in small flocks 
about the mountainous regions of the countries which they 
inhabit. 
14. Vultur californianus, or black vulture.—With whitish 
beak; head and neck unfeathered, and of a pale colour; the 
plumes of the collar and breast lanceolate. This bird is one 
of the largest of the genus, and approaches to the size of the 
condor. 
15. Vultur auriculatus, or brown vulture.—With naked 
neck, skin of the ears lengthened, and pale ruff. This is the 
oricou of Levaillant, and it is a very large bird, measuring 
ten feet from one wing’s end to the other: its general colour 
is brown, the throat being black, and covered with coarse 
hairs.—These birds inhabit the southern parts of Africa, and 
are of a gregarious nature, assembling in large flocks about 
the caverns of the rocky mountains, where they breed. This 
bird is very voracious, and when attacked or wounded 
defends itself with surprising strength and resolution ; but it 
is naturally of an indolent and sluggish character. 
16. Vultur Ponticerianus, or black vulture.—With nearly 
naked flesh-coloured head and neck, and a fleshy red ca¬ 
runcle down each side of the neck. It is the vautour royal 
.de Pondicherry of Sonnerat, whence its name.—Its size is 
that of a very large goose, with black bill and yellow legs ; 
and is a native of India. 
17. Vultur Indicus, or brown vulture.—With naked, rufous 
head and neck, and black wing and tail-feathers.—It is the 
Indian vulture of Latham. 
18. Vultur castaneus, or chesnut vulture.—With whitish 
downy head and neck, brownish raff, and black wing and 
tail-feathers. This is the percnoptere of Buffon, and differs 
little from the fulvous vulture, so that it might be thought 
to be a mere variety of that species. This bird is remark¬ 
able for a brown spot shaped like a heart, and edged with a 
straight white line, situated on the breast under the raff. 
It is deformed in figure, and disgusting in appearance, from 
a continual flux of rheum from its nostrils, and of saliva 
from two other holes in the bill.—According to Buffon, it is 
of the size of an eagle, and an inhabitant of the Alps and 
Pyrenees, and of the mountains of Greece. 
19. Vultur Ginginianus, or white vulture.—With black 
wing-feathers, and grey beak and legs. The vautour gingi 
of Sonnerat, who says it is of the size of a turkey, and is 
found about the coasts of Coromandel. Its flight is strong 
and 
