VULTUEID^. 23 



They speedily collect in troops around the body of 

 any dead animal, on which they glut themselves 

 until they are incapable of moving : they will, how- 

 ever, sometimes attack living prey. Their flight is 

 slow ; but they are capable of mounting to a con- 

 siderable height, by means of a series of circular 

 evolutions, which serve them, not only in ascending, 

 but in descending. Their nest is slightly formed of 

 sticks, on the most inaccessible parts of rocks, and 

 the parents nourish their young by disgorging into 

 their throats a portion of their own half-digested food. 

 The true Vultures are at once distinguishable by 

 the peculiarity of their aspect. A part of their 

 head, of greater or less extent, and sometimes the 

 neck also, is denuded of feathers ; thus ensuring 

 the comparative cleanliness of the bird, and pre- 

 serving it from the filth that would accumulate were 

 the head and neck clothed as in other birds. The 

 strength of their talons is not proportionate to their 

 size ; so that they make more use of their beak than 

 of their claws in procuring food. Their wings are 

 so long that, when upon the ground, they are 

 obliged to hold them in a half-extended position. 

 They are all cowardly in their habits, and generally 

 feed upon carrion, rarely upon living prey. When 

 satiated with food, their distended crop projects, a 

 fetid fluid runs from their nostrils, and they become, 

 from very repletion, reduced to a state of helpless 

 inactivity. Among filth and putridity they seem to 

 be in their native element, and they, themselves, 

 have a rank and disagreeable odour. When they 

 first rise from the ground, their flight is heavy and 

 embarrassed ; but after a few circuits it becomes 

 rapid and well-sustained ; so that when fairly on the 

 wing they can rise to a considerable elevation. 

 There is something ignoble in the gait of the whole 

 race, and the vileness of their disposition is indicated 

 by their attitude. Their wings hang down, and 

 their tail drags on the ground : their whole ap- 

 pearance is repulsive. Nevertheless, in hot climates 



