Lämmergeier (Gypaëtos barbatus), a large bird of prey, also called the Bearded Vulture or Bearded Griffin. The full-grown bird is of a shining brownish-black colour on the upper parts, with a white stripe along the shaft of each feather; the head is whitish, with black stripes at the eyes; the neck and under-part of the body are rusty yellow. It is the largest bird of prey in the Old World, measuring almost 4 feet high when sitting, nearly 5 feet in length, and from 9 to 10 feet in expanse of wing. Though by no means brave, it is bold and rapacious, swooping down on hares, lambs, young goats, chamois, &c., and sometimes, it is said, on infants. But as the feet and claws are comparatively weak, only young and light animals are lifted, and it is very difficult to believe the circumstantial tales of their carrying children. The usual food consists of animals newly killed, but carrion and even offal are not despised. Once common in the Alps, it is now very rare, but occurs not unfrequently in Sardinia, the Pyrenees, North Africa. mountains, and the Himalayas, where it often soars high above the loftiest peaks. The lämmergeier is said by some to be the original of the fabulous 'roc.'