Note 112 — Chapter X · THE LAMMERGEYER OR BEARDED VULTURE

Humā; the Lammergeyer, Bearded Vulture, or Ossifrage. Translators, imagining the Humā to be a fabulous creature, have identified it with the Phœnix. It was a popular Persian superstition that the shadow of a Humā falling on a person’s head predicted his rise to sovereignty. The adjective (and proper name) humāyūn, signifying “august,” “fortunate,” and “royal,” is derived from this bird. In the Panjab, the Lammergeyer, common as it is, seems to have no special native name.