Folio 44v Illustration detail

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f44v Text: The female vulture gives birth without copulation, like the Virgin Mary. Vultures know when death is near. The immaculate conception is a fantasy but it is likely that vultures live for a long time since they produce few eggs and breed infrequently. Illustration: two fierce birds oppose each other in a circle. The Bestiary illustrators did not know vultures, so the bird tends to look similar to the eagle.