BLACK VULTURE. 47 



being scarcely found beyond Wilmington in North Car- 

 olina, and seems to be most numerous and familiar in 

 the large maritime towns of South Carolina, Georgia, 

 and Florida : thus, though abundant in Savannah, there 

 are much fewer of this species at Augusta than of the 

 Turkey Vulture. In the tropical regions of America 

 they are also very common, and extend at least as far as 

 Chili. Like the former species, with which they associ- 

 ate only at meal-times, they are allowed a public protec- 

 tion for the service they render in ridding the earth of 

 carrion and other kinds of filth. They are much more 

 familiar in the towns than the preceding ; delighting, dur- 

 ing winter, to remain on the roofs of houses, catching the 

 feeble rays of the sun, and stretching out their wings to 

 admit the warm air over their foetid bodies. When the 

 weather becomes unusually chilly, or in the mornino's, 

 they may be seen basking upon the chimneys in the 

 warm smoke, which, as well as the soot itself, can add 

 no additional darkness or impurity to such filthy and 

 melancholy spectres. Here, or on the limbs of some of 

 the larger trees, they remain in listless indolence till 

 aroused by the calls of hunger. 



Their flight is neither so easy nor so graceful as that of 

 the Turkey-Buzzard. They flap their wings and then 

 soar horizontally, renewing the motion of their pinions 

 at short intervals. At times, however, they rise to con- 

 siderable elevations. In the city of Charleston and 

 Savannah they are to be seen in numbers walking the 

 streets with all the familiarity of domestic fowls, exam- 

 iningthe channels and accumulations of filth in order to 

 glean up the offal, or animal matter of any kind, which 

 may happen to be thrown out. They appeared to be very 

 regular in their attendance around the shambles, and 

 some of them become known by sight. This was partio- 



