450 



THE EMPIRE OF THE AIR. 



pelled to settle down on the water, to dabble aronnd like common 

 ducks; while in this same wind the great land-sailing birds sweep 

 with ease those great circles whicli transport them, without fatigue, 

 up to (Uiormous lieights. 



Thus the vulture is the bird which can utilize the feeblest current of 

 air in order to obtain sustaining power; he exaggerates the type of 

 what we might call permanent rest in the air, 



I have already said — and I repeat it, a large vulture can make long 

 flights without once beating the air. I have seen the following perform- 

 ance, not once but a hundred times: At the abattoirs of oriental cities 

 vultures are to be seen in great numbers, waiting a propitious moment 

 to get at their food, and sustaining themselves in the air meanwhile 

 without a single beat of wing. They nioTint up out of sight, they de 

 scend within 200 yards of earth, advance against the wind, glide with 

 the wind, slide to the right or left, cruising in a sin.gle hour over all 

 the surrounding country to see if there be not a dead animal more easy 

 of access; and they perform these maneuvers the whole day long, 

 making twenty ascensions of 1,000 yards each, gliding over 100 leagues, 

 and all this without one single stroke upon the air. 



l'"ii;. ] 1. — Oricou or Nubian Vulture. 



When you go still-hunting for a tawny vulture, take notice how he 

 first comes into sight; he does not then appear to be a large bird. At 

 the altitude at which he habitually soars lie a})pears of exactly the 

 same size as the kites and the Egyptian vultures; he makes no more 

 impression than they. You will however learn quickly to distinguish 

 him l)y the angle to the front produced by his wings, by the absence 

 of wing beats, and above all, by the slowness and steadiness with 

 which he moves in space. This is an infallible sign by which to re- 

 cognize him as far as the eye can reach. It is oidy nuu-h later that his 

 true size will be understood, Avhen he is only L*00 or 'MM) yards oft"; 

 and as he approaches within that distance lu^ will grow in ai>pear- 

 ance much faster than other birds. You will further distinguish him 

 by the peculiar spread of his wing tips. We may say that this is 



