126 THE HUMAN SIDE OF BIRDS 



of sight and smell. And especially are the senses 

 necessary in the determination of the presence of 

 decaying matter. Over the "Tower of Silence," in 

 India, the vultures congregate in large flocks, and 

 when a Parsee corpse is deposited on the planks 

 they immediately swoop down through the open 

 roof and devour it. 



Their food usually consists of vai'ious kinds of 

 animal matter, although they are supposed to suck 

 eggs and occasionally to kill the young of other 

 birds. 



When they gather together about a carcass, a 

 weird dumb-feast takes place! The silence is 

 broken only occasionally by their flopping, pulling, 

 and perching ; the busy scuffling of clumsy feet ; the 

 clashing of big wings; and above all, wheezy, low, 

 half -heard, serpent-like hisses. This batracho- 

 reptilian language is all the buzzards have left of a 

 once respectable voice. 



When they recover from their long semi-stupid 

 condition, caused from over-eating, they very wisely 

 go through with a number of physical exercises of 

 their volant appendages. This accounts for their 

 ability to eat so much. 



No bird is more awkward on the ground than 

 the turkey buzzard, but while soaring in the air he 

 is very graceful. When they are preparing for 



