CATHARTIDAE 



139 



was hatched in T>(imIoii after fifty-four days' incubation, )jut 

 apparently nearly a year is taken to gain full powers of tlight. 

 Oi/parchus ^j«2^r/, the King Vulture, of tropical America, save the 

 West Indies, has a small fleshy crest on the ceic in hoth sexes, 

 but no wattles, though the skin of the sides of the head is 

 wrinkled ; the occiput is hairy, and a ruff of broad plumbeous 

 feathers siirrounds the neck. The rump, tail, and most of the 



wings are ])lack; the remaining plumage being creamy white, the 

 bare throat and back of the neck yellow, the skin of the head and 

 neck elsewhere orange and red with lilue patches near the ears, 

 the bill orange and black, the irides white. This bird haunts 

 woods nccir rivers and marshes, especially towards the coast, and 

 feeds on snakes and carrion, from which it drives all other species ; 

 in fliLiht, habit of gorging, and eggs, it resembles the Condor. 

 Little smaller is the Californian Vulture {Pscudonryphus califor- 

 nianv.s), formerly extending to the Fraser ]iiver in British 



