f S$ Faculty of Scent in the Vulture. 



die corrupted bodies of those who had died of the pestilence, 

 and had been thrown overboard from the shipping ; then, 

 indeed, " de montibus adsunt Harpyiae ; " then it was that 

 the vultures came from the neighbouring hills to satisfy their 

 hunger; then, one might have said of these unfortunate 

 victims of the pestilence, — 



" Their limbs, unburied on the naked shore. 

 Devouring dogs and hungry vultures tore." 



In Andalusia, one day in particular, I stood to watch the 

 vultures feeding on the putrid remains of a mule, some ten 

 miles from the pleasant village of Alhaurin. Both kids and 

 lambs were reposing and browsing up and down in the neigh- 

 bourhood, still the vultures touched them not ; neither did 

 the goatherds seem to consider their flocks as being in bad 

 or dangerous company, otherwise they might have despatched 

 the vultures with very little trouble ; for they were so gorged 

 with carrion that they appeared unwilling to move from the 

 place. Now, seeing some of the kids and lambs lying on the 

 ground quite motionless, and observing that the vultures 

 paid no attention to them, I came to the following conclusion, 

 viz, that the vulture is directed to its food by means of its 

 olfactory nerves coming in contact with tainted effluvium 

 floating in the atmosphere ; and this being the case, we may 

 safely infer that the vulture cannot possibly mistake a 

 sleeping animal for one in which life is extinct, and which 

 has begun to putrefy. 



If the vulture were directed to its food solely by its eye, 

 there would be a necessity for it to soar to an immense 

 height in the sky ; and even then it would be often at a loss 

 to perceive its food, on account of intervening objects. But 

 I could never see the vulture rise to any vei'y astonishing 

 height in the heavens, as is the custom with the eagle, the 

 glede, and some other birds of prey ; and I am even fully of 

 opinion, that, when these last-mentioned birds soar so high, 

 they are not upon the look-out for food. When looking at 

 .the vultures aloft, I could always distinguish the king of the 

 vultures from the common vulture, and the common vulture 

 from the Fultur Aura. Sometimes, an inexperienced observer, 

 in Guiana, may mistake for vultures a flock of birds soaring 

 to a prodigious height in the sky : but, upon a steady 

 examination, he will find that they are Nandapoas. 



I conceive that we are in error when we suppose that 

 birds of prey rise to such an astonishing height as we see them 

 do, in order to have a better opportunity of observing their 

 food on the ground below them. I have watched gledes and 



