occurred in Madeira. Tangier seems to be its most westerly
limit on the African mainland, and tlience the first eggs of this
species seen in England were obtained from M. Favier in 1845,
by the late Mr. John Wolley, as has elsewhere been mentioned
(Ootheca Wolleyana, p. 1). They are subject to great variation
in size and colour, being blotched and mottled with
dark or light red, sometimes so closely that the white ground
is not visible. They measure from 2‘68 to 2'82 by 2-2 to
1‘72 in. In Algeria the species is abundant, and, according
to Mr. Salvin, “ wherever a cliff exists in the mountains
that surround the table-lands of the Eastern Atlas, sure
enough it will be occupied by a pair.” I t visits also all the
oases of the Desert in summer, and follows the nomad camps
for offal. The nest is said by Canon Tristram to he placed
on a rocky ledge, and to consist of a foundation of branches,
on which are heaped “ rags, patches, old slippers, and whole
basketsful of camels’ hair and wool.”
From the vicinity of Tangier this species passes over to
Portugal, where the Rev. A. C. Smith fell in with it on many
occasions; it is common in summer in Spain, especially in
Andalucía, where it fearlessly follows the plough, according
to Lord Lilford. I t inhabits and breeds on the Pyrenees and
in Lower Provence. I t has occurred in Germany, and Buffon
received an adult specimen from Norway; it is not, therefore,
at all surprising that this bird should have been taken in
England. The Norwegian specimen, placed by him in the
National Cabinet, was compared by Le Vaillant with his
Cape specimens, and he was convinced they were of the same
species.
Malta, Sicily, Corfu, and Crete, with other islands of the
Mediterranean Sea, are, as might be expected, visited by this
V ulture. Bruce, and many travellers after him, says it is
frequent in Egypt and about Cairo, where it is called by the
Europeans “ Pharaoh’s Hen.” In Arabic it is called Rachmali.
This name, with its Hebrew equivalent, Racham, rendered in
the English Bible “ Gier-eagle,” is supposed to be derived
from Rechem, which signifies love or attachment; probably,
says Canon Tristram, from the male and female never parting
company. Bruce adds, that this bird builds its nest in the
most deserted parts of the country, and lays but two eggs.
The parent birds attend their young with great care, and feed
them for the first four months. It is considered a breach of
order to kill any one of these birds in Cairo. They are
efficient scavengers. In Eastern Africa it has been observed
by nearly all recent travellers.
From Turkey, where it breeds as far north as Bulgaria,
this species ranges over the Crimea, Asia Minor, and Palestine
; but its eastern limits are somewhat doubtful, since of
late it has been declared that the well-known Indian bird
generally identified with Neophron percnopterus, is a distinct
species, N. ginginianus, and usually recognizable by its light-
coloured beak. On the other hand, it is certain that some
Indian Neophrons have dark beaks, so that the question still
remains in obscurity.
In the adult bird, the whole length from the point of the
VOL. I.