Lämmergeyer (GYPAETUS BARBATUS)

Bearded vulture of the Old World mountain peaks. Its length is 4 ft., wing expanse 9 ft., weight 20 lbs. The general color is blackish brown, with the shafts of the feathers white, the neck and under parts yellowish, the crown of head white, the beard black; the iris is orange encircled by red sclerotic. The young are darker, and are called black vultures. Accounts of its attacking human beings are exaggerations. It is known to drop bones and turtles from a great height to break them, to secure the marrow, etc., for food. It lays one dull yellow egg. It is nearly exterminated in the Alps, but more abundant in the Pyrenees.