524 
BIRD-LIFE. 
the bone became digested, and it was thus enabled to 
swallow the remaining portion. This anecdote agrees 
with a similar one told by Schintz, who once took from 
out the crop and stomach of a Lammergeir, which he 
had shot, the hoof-bone of a cow, the shin-bone of a 
chamois six and a half inches in length, some hair, and, 
as before mentioned, the claws of a Black Cock. These 
two anecdotes both go to prove that the Lammergeir 
of the Alps also has a great predilection for devouring 
bones. 
Of the propagation of this species little, as yet, seems 
to be known. My brother was the first naturalist who 
succeeded in reaching the eyrie of the Lammergeir. The 
nest which he invaded was situated in the not very lofty 
range of mountains of Murcia, on a rocky eminence, 
sheltered in some measure from the sun’s rays by an 
over-hanging boulder, scarcely a hundred feet above the 
last-mentioned shelf of rock, and was thus not very 
difficult to get at. The nest was very large, measuring 
three feet in height and five in diameter; in the centre 
was a shallow hollow of some two feet across : the basis 
of the structure was composed of long, thick sticks,— 
regular bludgeons, you might say; upon this was laid a 
layer of smaller sticks and twigs, and on these the nest 
was placed; the latter composed of the same class of 
materials, though finer in texture than that of the 
second layer, and lined with pieces of bark, cow- and 
liorse-hair. 
An inhabitant of the neighbouring village had taken a 
young bird from the nest in February, from which we 
may infer that the egg was laid in the middle of 
December or the beginning of January. It is highly 
probable that the egg of the Spanish bird is of the same 
