. Cassell's natural history . e dealers in hides slioidd protectthe carrion \Tiltures, and allow them to feed with their dogs. These birds likewise contribute to rejwess the midtiplication of alligators, by preyingon their eggs the moment they are consigned to the sand and left by the parent. Theirsloth, foulness, and voracity are such as almost to exceed belief. Whenever they alighton a carcase which thev can tear at their ease, they leave the bones as if tliev had beenscraped with a knife, and they often continue feeding till they are incapable of the pressure of danger, however, t
. Cassell's natural history . e dealers in hides slioidd protectthe carrion \Tiltures, and allow them to feed with their dogs. These birds likewise contribute to rejwess the midtiplication of alligators, by preyingon their eggs the moment they are consigned to the sand and left by the parent. Theirsloth, foulness, and voracity are such as almost to exceed belief. Whenever they alighton a carcase which thev can tear at their ease, they leave the bones as if tliev had beenscraped with a knife, and they often continue feeding till they are incapable of the pressure of danger, however, they have been known to rid themselves of aburdened stomach by disgorging. In the month of October the female of this sjiecieslays two white eggs, slightly .spotted with red. The young, on their exclusion, arecovered w^-th a white dowoi, and their eyes are closed. The nest consists of an in the gromid, or of brushwood, on the borders of forests, without any regidardistribution of materials. * V. Ain-a. THE EGYPTIAN * This bird is sometimes called Pharaohs chic-ken. It has a feeble, slender, elongatedbill, the anterior part of the head and throat only being denuded of feathers. Thenostrils arc oval and longitudinal; the tail wedge-shaped. It is one of the smallest of theA-ultures, and little more than the size of a raven. It is spread over the whole of tlu>hotter portions of the old world, from Spain to the Ctist; throughout Greece, the islands ofthe Levant, Turkey and throughout the greater part of Africa, it abounds in immense flocks. Sonnini tells us that these vultures ai-e not ferocious in Egypt; they are to be seen onthe terraces of houses, in the midst of the most popidous and noisy cities, perfectly quiet,and living in complete security among men, who feed and cherish them with the utmostcare. Tlicy also frequent the deserts, and prey upon the carcases of men and animalswhich have perished in these immense wastes, consecrated, as it w
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1854
