of the Cape of Good Hope. Travellers have noticed it occurring on the northern coasts, and on the shores opposed to Europe it is extremely abundant; whence, crossing to Southern Europe, the frequency continues, but gradually decreases as an advance is made northwards, and France and Britain may be accounted the utmost limits to which wanderers occasionally stray.

Notwithstanding, however, its great abundance in Spain and the opposite African shores, little, as yet, is known of its habits. Its general food appears to be carrion, of all kinds, and, in some parts, it is protected, on account of its utility in clearing off putrid substances. Bruce states that it is a very great breach of order, or of police, to molest or kill these birds near Cairo. In Egypt, the utility of these vultures, in clearing the streets of filth of every description-a task which they undertake in common with the pariah dogs-has often been noticed; nor were the services of this bird less valued in ancient than in modern times; it was among the number of the sacred animals, and is often represented, with tolerable accuracy, on the early monuments of Egypt: hence its appellation of “Pharaoh's chicken." A constant attendant on the caravan, as it wends its way from town to town, an assiduous frequenter of the shambles, an industrious searcher for carrion, it merits, so far as public utility is concerned, the regards of the community; nor are its services overlooked; for, if not now adored as a deity, it is at least esteemed as a benefactor. In the neighbourhood of Gibraltar, and in the South of Spain generally, flocks of this vulture are annually seen; and it is probable that they winter in Africa. Captain S. E. Cook says he saw them near Seville, following the track of the plough, like rooks, in order to discover the grubs in the upturned soil.

These vultures do not congregate, except when a specially attractive carcase calls them together, but go in pairs, the male and female seldom parting company. According to Mr. Yarrell, in the districts which this species inhabits, every group of the natives has a pair of these vultures attached to it. The birds roost on the trees in the vicinity, or on the fences which bound the inclosures formed by the cattle. They are, to a certain degree, domiciled and harmless. The people do them no injury, but are glad to see and encourage them, because they clear the premises of all the offal and filth they can find.

Occasionally, this vulture is said to feed on reptiles and the smaller animals. Of its nidification we are equally ignorant. According to Temminck, it breeds in the most inaccessible places, in the holes or fissures of some perpendicular cliff; but of the number or colour of the eggs he says nothing. Bruce says that there are two, and that the nest is built in the most desert parts of the country; but here his information ceases.

In size, the Egyptian Vulture somewhat exceeds a raven, its length being two feet five or six inches, and the expanse of its wings about five feet eight or nine inches. Long and ample as they are, they give the bird amazing power of flight, and enable it to soar with great buoyancy.

A single specimen of this bird was killed on the shores of the British Channel in October, 1825, and became the possession of the Rev. A. Mathew, of Kilve, in Somersetshire. When first discovered, it was feeding on the carcase of a dead sheep, and had so gorged itself with the carrion as to be unable or unwilling to fly to any great distance at a time; it was, therefore, approached without much difficulty and shot. Another bird, apparently of this species, was seen at the same time on the wing at no great distance, but could never be approached within gun-shot. The one procured at this time was in immature plumage, the dark feathers of the young beautifully mixed with others of a rich cream-yellow. The colour of the naked skin on the head was of a livid flesh-coloured red; that of the legs, of a pale yellowish gray.

The adult birds have the plumage nearly of a uniform yellowish white or cream colour, excepting the quills, inner webs, and base of the secondaries: the former are blackish; the latter, liver-brown, which, on the outer webs, gradually shades into the cream colour. The feathers on the hind head and neck are lanceolate, very pointed and hackled, and appear to be occasionally raised when the bird is under the influence of either fear or anger. The head, before the ears, is bare of feathers; a few straggling hair-like tufts appearing on the chin, and marking superciliary ridges and a circle round the ears. The skin on these parts, in the adult birds, is gamboge yellow; but, in the Somersetshire specimen, which the naturalist who describes it saw before it was dried, the colour was livid: this undergoes a change as the bird approaches its mature state.

The young of the year have the head thinly covered with down, and, as we observed, have the colour

ing of the uncovered parts of a less clear appearance than in the adults; the plumage is entirely of a dull blackish-brown, with yellowish spots on the tips of the feathers. The quills, however, are black, though not of so clear a tint as in the old birds. In approaching to maturity, the dark parts of the plumage assume a rich purplish-brown tint, the feathers appear more glossy, and these dark parts afford a pleasing and strong contrast to the cream yellow of the body. The length of the specimens we have received from South Africa is two feet two or three inches,

THE GRIFFON VULTURE.*

THIS splendid species-Le Griffon of the French, the Weissköpfiger Geier of the Germans-is spread from the South of Europe throughout Turkey, Persia, and Africa, everywhere choosing its abode among lofty rocks and mountains. It appears, however, to be merely a summer visitant in Europe, passing, on the advance of the colder season, over into Africa; and hence, at certain periods, flocks of forty or fifty are seen to cross the straits of Gibral

tar, many having made the rock itself a temporary residence. It is, however, most abundant in the Pyrenees and the mountain districts of Spain, especially Granada; it is also found in the Alps and the Tyrol.

Like all the other birds of its tribe, it feeds principally on carrion, to which it is frequently attracted in very considerable numbers. That eminent naturalist, Mr. Bennett, says :-"When it has once made a lodgment on its prey, it rarely quits the banquet while a morsel of flesh remains; so that it is not uncommon to see it perched upon a putrefying corpse for several successive days. It never attempts to carry off a portion, even to satisfy its young, but feeds them by disgorging the half-digested morsel from its maw. Sometimes, but very rarely, it makes its prey of living victims; and even then, of such only as are incapable of offering the smallest resistance; for, in a contest for superiority, it has not that advantage which is possessed by the falcon tribes, of lacerating its enemy with its talons, and must, therefore, rely upon the force of its beak alone. It is only, however, when no other mode of

THE GRIFFON VULTURE.

satiating its appetite presents itself, that it has recourse to the destruction of other animals for its subsistence.

"After feeding, it is seen fixed for hours in one unvaried posture, patiently waiting until the work of digestion is completed, and the stimulus of hunger is removed, to enable and to urge it to mount again into the upper regions of the air, and fly abroad in quest of its necessary food. If violently disturbed after a full meal, it is incapable of flight until it has disgorged the contents of its stomach; lightened of which, and freed from their debilitating effects, it is immediately in a condition to soar to such a pitch as, in spite of its magnitude, to become invisible to human sight."

The Griffon Vulture is about three feet six inches in length, and eight or nine feet in the expanse of its wings. The general colour of the adult is a deep rufous gray, which becomes black on the quillfeathers and the tail. The head and neck are covered with short, close down, which, as well as the beautiful ruff which encircles the lower part of the neck, are of a pure white. The nest is placed in the clefts of a rock, from whence this vulture can look out on the surrounding country, while, perhaps, its mate is gorging on a carcase in the distant plain. It lays from two to four eggs, which are of a

VOL. III.

* Vultur fulvus.

4

grayish-white, with numerous spots of a very light and diluted red. The young are of a bright-fawn colour, and do not acquire their full livery until the close of the third year.

In captivity, the only desire of the griffon vulture appears to be that of some creatures of a higher grade-to obtain a regular supply of food. Only let this be secured, and it is seemingly indifferent to all other circumstances.

THE TURKEY VULTURE.*

THIS bird-a specimen of the genus Cathartes-is peculiar to America, and, like the rest, may be thus characterised :—The beak feeble, elongated, and curved only at the top; the head and part of the neck bare of feathers; the skin loose and carunculated; there is a tendency to a ruff round the bare space below the neck; the nostrils have narrow, longitudinal apertures; the wings extend beyond the tail. The general colour of the plumage is a glossy brownish-black, with green reflexions. In length, it measures two feet four or five inches, and its stretch of wing is about six feet.

These vultures, unless when rising from the earth, seldom flap their wings, but sweep along in ogees, and dipping and rising lines, and move with great rapidity. They are often seen in companies, soaring at an immense height, particularly previous to a thunder-storm. Their wings are not spread horizontally, but form a slight angle with the body upwards, the tips having an upward curve. They never fail to discover carrion, even when several miles from it. When once they have found a carcase, they will not leave it, if unmolested, until the whole is devoured.

A man in the state of Delaware, as Wilson relates, observing some of these birds regaling themselves on the carcase of a horse, which was in a highly putrid state, and on which they had feasted till scarcely able to move, thought it would amuse his children if he could take one home. Cautiously approaching and springing on the unsuspicious group, he grasped a fine, plump bird in his arms, and was bearing off his prize in triumph, when the vulture, indignant at the outrage, disgorged such a torrent of filth in his face, as made his first experiment the last he ever made.

Mr. Waterton states, that though the flocks collect for a common feast around a carcase, he does not consider the Turkey Vulture, properly speaking, to be gregarious, but each pair to pursue its separate interests; and this may be the case with vultures generally, and with even those like the present species, which assemble in multitudes wherever they can discover a banquet. The same naturalist states that he could never see this bird feeding on that which was not putrid; and that often, when he had thrown aside the useless remains of birds and quadrupeds, after dissection, though soaring up and down all the day long, it would never descend to feed upon them, or to carry them off, until they were in a state of putrefaction.

Mr. Waterton adds another curious fact :-"When I carried Lord Collingwood's dispatches up the Oronoco to the city of Angustura, I there saw the common vultures of Guiana nearly as tame as turkeys; the Spaniards protected them, and considered them in the light of useful scavengers. They were flying about the city in all directions."

According to Humboldt, the carcases of horses, mules, and cows, attract innumerable vultures. Of South America, he says, the zamuros, as they are called, are the ibises of this country, and they render the same service to the inhabitants of the Llanos as the vultur percnopterus to the inhabitants of Egypt.

At sunrise, he often saw them in flocks of forty or fifty, perched on the cocoa-trees. They range themselves in files to roost together like fowls. They go to roost long before sunset, and do not awake till after the sun is above the horizon-a sluggishness which seems as if it were shared in those climates by the mimosas, the tamarinds, and other trees with pinnate leaves.

Humboldt also says: "We met some large herds of cattle, and with them flocks of birds of a black colour, with an olive shade. They follow the cattle. We had often seen them perched on the backs of cows, seeking for gadflies, and other insects. The Spanish colonists call them zamurito, little carrion vulture,† or garapatero, the eater of garapatas, insects of the Acarus family. Like many birds of these desert places, they fear so little the approach of man, that children often catch them in their hands. In the valleys of Aragua, where they are very common, we have seen them perch upon upon which we were reposing in open day.”

the hammocks

* Vultur aura: Wilson. Cathartes aura: Illiger.

Vultur aura minuta.

THE BLACK VULTURE.*

THIS bird, like the one just described, is respected at Charleston for the service that it renders in removing from the city all carrion, and other refuse, on which it exclusively feeds. Black vultures occupy themselves throughout the day to discover such substances, and then, coming down in legions, they contend violently for the prey, which immediately disappears. If even a chicken dies, its bones are speedily picked clean. And yet, strange to say, they may be easily knocked down with a stick. Descourtilz says, "I had a great desire to obtain a specimen in this way, but I was not disposed to pay the penalty of five louis-d'or."

Wilson, with his usual graphic power, thus pictures an occurrence near Charleston :-"A horse had dropped down in the street in convulsions, and dying, it was dragged out to Hampstead, and skinned. The ground, for a hundred yards around it, was black with carrion crows; many sat on the tops of sheds, fences, and houses, within sight; sixty or eighty on the opposite side of a small inn. I counted, at one time, two hundred and thirty-seven, but I believe there were more, besides several in the air over my head, and at a distance.

"I ventured cautiously within thirty yards of the carcase, where three or four dogs and twenty or thirty vultures were busily tearing and devouring. Seeing them take no notice, I ventured nearer, till I was within ten yards, and sat down on the bank. Still they paid little attention to me. The dogs being sometimes accidentally flapped with the wings of the vultures, would growl and snap at them, which would occasion them to spring up for a moment, but they immediately gathered in again. I remarked that the vultures frequently attack each other, fighting with their claws, or heels, striking, like a cock, with open wings, and fixing their claws in each other's head. The females, and, I believe, the males likewise, made a hissing sound, with open mouth, exactly resembling that produced by thrusting a red-hot poker into water; and frequently a snuffling, like a dog clearing his nostrils, as I suppose they were theirs.

"On observing that they did not heed me, I stole so close that my feet were within one yard of the horse's legs, and again sat down. They all slid aloof a few feet, but, seeing me quiet, soon returned as before. As they were often disturbed by the dogs, I ordered the latter home; my voice gave no alarm to the vultures. As soon as the dogs departed, the vultures crowded in such numbers, that I counted at one time thirty-seven on and around the carcase, with several within; so that scarcely an inch of it was visible.

"Sometimes one would come out with a large piece of the entrails, which, in a moment, was sur rounded by several others, who tore it in fragments, and it soon disappeared. They kept up the hissing occasionally. Some of them, having their whole legs and head covered with blood, presented a most savage aspect. Still, as the dogs advanced, I would order them away, which seemed to gratify the vultures; and one would pursue another to within a foot or two of the spot where I was sitting. Sometimes I observed them stretching their necks along the ground, as if to press the food downwards."

The Black Vulture is nearly the size of the griffon vulture, and sometimes still larger. It has a collar of long, narrow, and bristling feathers; the naked skin of the head and neck is blue, and garnished with down; the beak is blackish; and the long feathers of the leg sometimes descend sufficiently to cover the tarsus as far as the toes. The plumage, during the first year, is varied with brown and dirty gray: it is only in the fourth year that the down of the head and the feathers are black.

THE BEARDED VULTURE.†

THERE is little in the general aspect of this bird to recall the vulture, and yet the character of the head and the general contour of the body are strikingly different from those of the eagle. There is a want of dignity and quiet majesty in its attitude, while the glance of its red eye, though keen and cruel, has not that expression of daring and resolution so conspicuous in the feathered sovereign. Hence an intermediate situation has been assigned it, and which is aptly expressed in the generic appellation, gypaëtus—a Greek compound, denoting a vulture and an eagle-and is clearly indicated in its robust

form and general habits. The bristly beard, which depends from the lower mandible, tends, also, to give a peculiar character to its physiognomy.

Equalling or exceeding the largest eagle in size, this fine bird is found throughout the great mountain chains of the Old World, being, in fact, though not anywhere numerous, widely dispersed. It occurs in the Pyrenees and in the Alps of Germany and Switzerland. Of its nidification little is ascertained, except that it selects the most inaccessible pinnacles as the site of its eyrie. Pallas states that it is known to breed on the high rocks of the great Altaic chain, and beyond the lake Baikal. Hence it has been said of this bird :

"Horror wide extends

His desolate domain."

In length, this bird measures about four feet from the bill to the end of the tail, and from nine to ten in the extent of its wings. The tarsi are short, and almost hidden by the feathers of the thighs; the iris is bright-red; the wings are ample, the second and third quill-feathers being the longest; the tail is graduated; the head is clothed with feathers, and from the sides of the under mandible proceed a row of black bristles, which form a beard or pencil at its angle, and a layer of similar bristles, beginning at the eye, covers the nostrils: hence it is often called by the natives "Father Longbeard.” The general colour of the upper surface is dark grayish-brown, the centre of each feather having a longitudinal dash of white. The neck and the whole of the under surface are white, tinted with reddish brown. The young birds are darker in the general hue of their plumage than the adult, and the white spots are larger and less defined. In this stage, it has even been mistaken for a distinct species.

As the great bodily power, the ample wings and the tail sufficiently indicate, the flight of this bird is sweeping and majestic. It gaily sails around the Alpine summits, whence it marks its quarry from afar, and, collecting all its energies for the onset, glides with arrow-like force on its prey. If, however, it be lured from its aerial altitude by carrion, it no longer emulates the eagle in its pounce, but, calmly descending to some neighbouring crag, it thence sets out, flying with heavy wings, at a short distance from the ground, towards its foul repast, to be joined by others of its species.

Not only does it banquet on carrion, but it spreads devastation far and wide among the peaceful tenants of the fold, and the wild but timid inhabitants of the hills, the meadows, and the lawns. The swiftness and activity of the hare, the chamois, or the nimble marmoset, afford them no security against their winged foe, nor can the smallest quadrupeds escape its piercing ken. It is from the lamb becoming the frequent victim of this bird, that the Swiss peasants call it the Lammer-geyer, literally, the "lamb vulture." Often, too, does it watch till the unwary chamois approaches the edge of a precipice, or traverses the pass of a narrow ledge, and then, sudden and impetuous as the avalanche of its native regions, it rushes down, hurling its victim into the abyss beneath, when, after making a few proud gyrations, as if exulting in its success, it plunges down to gorge itself on the still quivering flesh. Bruce, the traveller, saw a bird of this kind on a high mountain near Gondar. His servants were refreshing themselves after a toilsome and rugged ascent, enjoying a most delightful climate, and eating a dinner of goat's flesh in the open air, when this bearded vulture came flying slowly along the ground, and sat down close to the meat, within the ring the men had made around it. A great shout, or rather a cry of distress, called their master to the spot.

He saw the vulture stand for a minute, as if to recollect itself, while the servants ran for their lances and shields. He now walked up to the bird as nearly as he had time to do, and saw it put its foot into the pan, where there was a large piece of goat's-flesh in water, prepared for boiling; but, feeling the smart, which it had not expected, it withdrew its foot, and gave up the piece it had held. There were two other large pieces of flesh-a leg and a shoulder-lying on a wooden platter; into these it now thrust its claws, and carried them off, looking wistfully, it was thought, at the large piece which remained in the warm water. Away it went, slowly over the ground, as it had come; but the face of the cliff-over which criminals are thrown-concealed it from view. The Mohammedans of the party were greatly alarmed, declaring that the vulture would return; the servants, on the other hand, were far from desiring a second visit, as they thought it had already taken more than its share.

Bruce, however, wished for a more intimate acquaintance with this bird, and loaded a rifle with ball, close to the platter by the meat. A prodigious shout was speedily raised: "He is coming! he is coming!"—a sufficient noise, indeed, to have dismayed a far larger creature. But whether it had some