The great bare-necked vulture
claims respect among the crowd; but another form has appeared in
the blue sky, and rapidly descends. A pair of long, ungainly
legs, hanging down beneath the enormous wings, now touch the
ground, and Abou Seen (father of the teeth or beak, the Arab name
for the Marabou) has arrived, and he stalks proudly towards the
crowds, pecking his way with his long bill through the struggling
vultures, and swallowing the lion's share of the repast. Abou
Seen, last but not least, had arrived from the highest region,
while others had the advantage of the start. This bird is very
numerous through the Nile tributaries of Abyssinia, and may
generally be seen perched upon the rocks of the water-side,
watching for small fish, or any reptile that may chance to come
within his reach. The well-known feathers are situated in a plume
beneath the tail.
On 14th April we left our camp in the afternoon, and, after
marching nine miles, during which we passed two small streams,
flowing, like all others, from this point, west to the Atbara, we
slept by a large pool in a third stream of considerable size. A
waterfall flowed over a row of perpendicular basalt columns that
surrounded a deep basin, resembling piles of ebony artificially
arranged.
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