The flight of these birds is very graceful, and particularly quiet and easy. When about to descend they open their wings, stretch out their feet, and reach the ground in a direct line, without the slightest movement of their broad pinions. The nests are built close to each other, upon a ledge of rock, and thus form a kind of settlement, which is for the most part quite inaccessible, owing to the precipitous nature of the locality usually selected; we have, however, made various successful attempts to reach them with the help of a Hottentot guide, but found the stench from the eyries intolerable, and the surrounding rock perilously slippery, being, as it were, polished by constant friction. The brood consists but of one white egg, which is laid about October: the nestling, when first hatched, is covered with white down, and is not fully fledged until the month of January. The Eared Vulture thrives in captivity, and can easily be rendered very tame. * * * * * The RAVEN VULTURES (_Cathartæ_), a group of much smaller birds than those above described, are recognisable by their long beaks, pointed wings, and slender tarsi; their heads are either wholly or partially bare, and in some species covered with warts. The members of this group, as their name suggests, in many respects resemble the Ravens, and may be regarded as replacing those birds throughout South America, whilst such as are found in Africa and India associate freely with Crows, and lead a very similar life. The nest is usually built upon rocks or trees, and the brood consists of one, or at most of two eggs. * * * * *