THE BEARDED VULTURE. 
525 
round shape, and is similarly marked to that of the 
alpine bird, viz., a light gray ground, thickly marked 
with dark red or brownish spots, partially smeared or 
smudged out. Eeliable information we cannot get, as no 
Spanish naturalist has ever been able to obtain a speci¬ 
men of the egg of this bird. We were fortunate enough 
to be able to secure the young one, and thus had the 
opportunity to observe the bird in captivity. By an 
extraordinary piece of good fortune we also obtained an 
old bird, winged by a gun-shot, possibly the mother 
of our young prisoner. The more juvenile individual 
became in a short time very tame indeed, allowing 
us to stroke and carry it, feed it, and even take away its 
food from it without any opposition. At the end of about 
a month it could sit upright, and began to drink, which 
operation was performed by inserting the lower part of 
the bill deep in the water, and throwing its head suddenly 
upwards and backwards, by which means it succeeded 
in swallowing a considerable quantity. By the second 
month this young bird was fully fledged, with the 
exception of the neck; the tail had grown considerably, 
though it had not by any means attained its full length. 
We placed the bird in a large, roomy cage, to which it 
soon became accustomed. After a few days it learnt to 
know my brother, and recognise him as its master, 
answered him when he called,—accepting any treatment 
at his hands, it liked to play with his fingers, and he 
was able to put them down its throat without the 
slightest fear of being bitten. When allowed to quit its 
cage it seemed highly delighted, and walked about the 
courtyard with outspread wings, preened its feathers, 
tried to fly, or laid itself flat on the sand, stretching itself 
at its ease. This bird soon learned to eat alone, and gave 
