THE KING VULTURE. 



15 



with force, and it appeared as if the extended wings formed the fulcrum on which the move- 

 ments of the neck, body, and tail acted. If the bird wished to descend, the wings were for a 

 moment collapsed, and then when again expanded with an altered inclination, the momentum 

 gained by the rapid descent seemed to urge the bird upwards with the even and steady move- 

 ments of a paper kite. 



" In case of any bird soaring, its motion must be sufficiently rapid, so that the action of 

 the inclined surface of its body on the atmosphere may counterbalance its gravity. The force 

 to keep up the momentum of a body moving in a horizontal plane in that fluid (in which there 

 is so little friction) cannot be great, and this force is all that is wanted. The movement of the 

 neck and body of the Condor we must suppose sufficient for this. However this may be, 

 it is truly wonderful and beautiful to see so great* a bird, hour after hour, without any 

 apparent exertion, wheeling and gliding over mountain and river.' ' 



The Condor deposits its eggs, for it makes no nest whatever, upon a bare shelf of some 

 lofty rock. The eggs are two in number, grayish-white in color, and are laid about November 

 or December. When the young Condor is hatched it is nearly naked, but is furnished with 

 a scanty covering of down, which in a short time becomes very plentiful, enveloping the body 

 in a complete vestment of soft, black plumage. The deep black gray of the adult bird is not 

 attained until a lapse of three years, the color of the plumage being a yellowish-brown. 



The California Condor (PseudogrypTius californianus) nearly rivals in size the great 

 South American Condor. Its length is from forty-live to fifty inches, and its wing extent 

 from nine to ten feet. This is comparatively a new bird. Like many others, it has been 

 brought to notice since the settlement of California. Though not at all uncommon, it is a rare 

 bird in collections. It seems to be confined to the warmer portions of California. Dr. New- 

 berry, of Columbia College, saw much of this bird while engaged in the geological survey of 

 that region. He says: " It was to me a pleasant portion of every day's experience in my 

 march through Sacramento Valley, to watch the graceful evolutions of this bird. In its colors 

 the combination was a pleasing one, while its flight was easy and effortless beyond that of any 

 other bird. Though a common bird in this region, I found it much more shy and difficult to 

 shoot than its associate, the turkey buzzard." 



This vulture possesses immense muscular powers. Dr. Heerman states that four of them 

 dragged the body of a young grizzly bear, that weighed over an hundred pounds, the distance 

 of two hundred yards. Their senses of smell and sight are very acute, especially the latter ; 

 and when searching for prey they soar to an immense height. If they chance to see a wounded 

 animal, they chase it until it sinks with exhaustion, when they commence to feed even before 

 life is extinct. 



Their flight is slow, steady, and exceedingly graceful ; they glide along with little or no 

 perceptible motion of the wings, the tips of which are curved upwards in flying, like those of 

 the turkey buzzard. The nest is of a few' loose sticks, generally in the crevice of a rock. 

 Observers of reliability assert that they sight their prey while soaring at considerable height. 



THE KING VULTURE has gained its regal title from a supposition which is prevalent 

 among the natives of the country which it inhabits, that it wields royal sway over the aura, 

 or zopilote Vultures, and that the latter birds will not venture to touch a dead carcase until 

 the King Vulture has taken his share. There is some truth for this supposition, for the King 

 Vulture will not permit any other bird to begin its meal until his own hunger is satisfied. 

 The same habit may be seen in many other creatures, the more powerful lording it over the 

 weaker, and leaving them only the remains of the feast instead of permitting them to partake 

 of it on equal terms. But if the King Vulture should not happen to be present when the dead 

 animal has reached a state of decomposition which renders it palatable to vulturine tastes, the 

 subject Vultures would pay but little regard to the privileges of their absent monarch, and 

 would leave him but a slight prospect of getting a meal on the remains of the feast. 



Waterton, who often mentions this species in his interesting works, gives several curious 

 instances of the sway which the King Vulture exercises over the inferior birds. " When I had 

 done with the carcase of the large snake, it was conveyed into the forest, as I expected that it 



