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VULTURE

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Originally appearing in Volume V28, Page 222 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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VULTURE , the name of certain birds whose best-known characteristic is that of feeding upon carcases. The genus Vultur, as instituted by See also:

LINNAEUS

Linnaeus, is now restricted by ornithologists to a single See also:

SPECIES

species, V. monachus. The other species included therein by him, or thereto referred by succeeding systematists, being elsewhere relegated (see See also:

LAMMERGEYER (Ger. Lammergeier, Lamm, lamb, and Geier, vulture)

LAMMERGEYER). A most important taxonomic See also:

CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. «a urmu', to bend)

change was introduced by T. H. See also:

HUXLEY, THOMAS HENRY (1825–1895)

Huxley (Prot. Zool. Society, 1867, pp. 462-64), who pointed out the See also:

COMPLETE

complete structural difference between the vultures of the New See also:

WORLD

World and those of the Old, regarding the former as constituting a distinct See also:

FAMILY

family, Cathartidae (which, however, would be more properly named Sarcorhamphidae), while he See also:

UNITED

united the latter with the See also:

ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary diurnal birds of See also:

PREY (0. Fr. preie, mod. proie, Lat. praeda, booty, from prae and the root hed—seen in prehendere, prendere, to grasp)

prey as Gypaetidae. The See also:

AMERICAN

American vulture may be said to include four genera: (r) Sarcorhamphus, the gigantic See also:

CONDOR (Sarcorhamphus gryphus)

condor, the male distinguished by a large fleshy See also:

COMB (a word common in various forms to Teut. languages, cf. Ger. Kamm, the Indo-Europ. origin of which is seen in yoµros, a peg or pin, and Sanskrit, gambhas, a tooth)

comb and wattle; (2) Gypagus, the See also:

king-vulture, with its gaudily coloured See also:

head and nasal caruncle; King-Vulture (Gypagus papa). (3) Catharista, containing the so-called See also:

TURKEY

turkey-See also:

BUZZARD

buzzard with its See also:

ALLIES, THOMAS WILLIAM (1813-1903)

allies; and (4) Pseudogryphus, the See also:

GREAT

great Californian vulture —of very limited range on the western slopes of See also:

North See also:

AMERICA

America. Though all these birds are structurally different from the true vultures of the Old World, in habits the Vulturidae and Sarcorhamphidae are much alike.

The true vultures of the Old World, Vulturidae in the restricted sense, are generally divided into five or six genera, of which Neophron has been separated as forming a distinct subfamily, Neophroninae—its members, of comparatively small See also:

SIZE

size, differing both in structure and See also:

HABIT (through the French from Lat. habitus, from habere, to have, hold, or, in a reflective sense, to be in a certain condition; in many of the English senses the French use habitude, not habit)

habit considerably from the See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest. One of them is the so-called See also:

EGYPTIAN

Egyptian vulture or See also:

PHARAOH (Par'oh)

Pharaoh's See also:

hen, N. percnopterus, a remarkably foul-feeding species, living much on ordure. It is a well-known species in some parts of See also:

India,' and thence westward to See also:

Africa, where In the eastern See also:

PART

part of the See also:

INDIAN

Indian See also:

peninsula it is replaced by a smaller See also:

RACE

race or (according to some authorities) species, N. ginginianus, which has a yellow instead of a See also:

black See also:

BILL

bill. it has an extensive range. It also occurs on the See also:

NORTHERN

northern shores of the Mediterranean, and has strayed to such a distance as to have suffered See also:

CAPTURE (from Lat. capere, to take; Fr. prise maritime; Ger. Wegnahme)

capture in See also:

England and even in See also:

Norway. Of the genera composing the other subfamily, Vulturinae, Gyps See also:

numbers seven or eight See also:

LOCAL

local species and races, on more than one of which the See also:

ENGLISH

English name griffon has been fastened. The best known is G. fulvus, which by some authors is accounted See also:

BRITISH

British " from an example having been taken in See also:

Ireland, though under circumstances which suggest its See also:

APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

appearance so See also:

tar from its nearest See also:

home in See also:

Spain to be due to See also:

man's intervention. The species, however, has a wider See also:

DISTRIBUTION (Lat. distribuere, to deal out)

distribution on the See also:

EUROPEAN

European See also:

CONTINENT (from Lat. continere, "to hold together "; hence " connected," " continuous ")

continent (especially towards the north-See also:

east) than the Egyptian vulture, and in Africa nearly reaches the See also:

EQUATOR (Late Lat. aequator, from aequare, to make equal)

Equator, extending also in See also:

ASIA

Asia to the See also:

HIMALAYA

Himalaya; but both in the Ethiopian and Indian regions its range inosculates with that of several allied forms or species. Pseudogyps with two forms—one Indian, the other See also:

AFRICAN

African—differs from Gyps by having 12 instead of 14 rectrices. Of the genera Otogyps and Lophogyps nothing here need be said; and then we have Vultur, with, as mentioned before, its See also:

SOLE (Solea)

sole representative, V. monaclzus, commonly known as the cinereous vulture, a See also:

BIRD

bird which is found from the Straits of See also:

GIBRALTAR

Gibraltar to the See also:

sea-See also:

COAST (from Lat. costa, a rib, side)

coast of See also:

CHINA

China. Almost all these birds inhabit rocky cliffs, on the ledges of which they build their nests. The question whether vultures in their See also:

SEARCH, or VISIT AND SEARCH

search for See also:

food are guided by sight of the See also:

OBJECT

object or by its See also:

SCENT

scent has excited much See also:

INTEREST

interest.

It seems to be now generally admitted that the sense of sight is in almost every See also:

case sufficient to See also:

account for the observed facts. (A.

End of Article: VULTURE

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