Uniform brownish grey; the hue varying with individuals.
Not found in Sind.
[143]. Pseudogyps bengalensis: The Indian White-backed Vulture. (F. 1196), (J. 5), (+V. Between [141] and [142] in size.)
This is the commonest vulture in India. It is very dark grey, almost black. The naked head is rather lighter than the rest of the body. The lower back is white, and this makes the bird easy to identify. It has some white in the wings, and this during flight is visible as a broad white band that runs from the body nearly to the tip of the wing. Thus the wing from below appears to be white with very broad black edges. (Illus. B. B., p. 9.)
[144]. Neophron ginginianus: The Smaller White Scavenger Vulture. (F. 1197), (J. 6), (V.)
This familiar creature I have named “The ugliest bird in the world.” I reproduce the description of the bird from Bombay Ducks: “There is no other creature like unto it. It is about the size of a kite. Its plumage is dirty white, except the tips of the wings, which are shabby black. The neck is covered with feathers, which stick out like the back hairs of a schoolboy. These are, if possible, rather dirtier-looking than the rest of the plumage, and frequently assume a rusty hue. Its bill is yellow, so are its naked face and its legs. As ‘Eha’ remarks: ‘It does not stand upright like the true vultures, but carries its body like a duck and steps like a recruit.’ . . . It is a good flier, and when seen on the wing looks quite a respectable bird. The under parts of its wings appear pure white in the sunlight, and the black border gives them a finish.”
Young scavenger vultures are sooty brown when they leave the nest and look like a different species.
This creature feeds on human ordure and haunts the neighbourhood of latrines. It is known to Thomas Atkins as the Shawk. It is also called Pharaoh’s Chicken. (Illus. B. D., pp. 278 and 280.)
In the Punjab it is replaced by a species which resembles it in all characters, differing only in being a little larger. This species is:
[145]. Neophron percnopterus: The Egyptian Vulture, or Large White Scavenger Vulture. (F. 1198), (J. 6), (+V.)