458 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



MALE SOUTH AMERICAN CONDOR. 



NEW WORLD VULTURES. 



By C. William Beebe, 

 curator of birds. 



Part I. 



THE very name of vulture has come to ex- 

 press unpleasant tilings and to symbolize 

 evil ways and characteristics. Few people 

 associate these birds otherwise than with sur- 

 roundings of ill-smelling carrion, but this is most 

 unfair, both to birds in a wild state and to those 

 in captivity. Although it would perhaps be 

 difficult to frame an encomium on all their ways 

 of life, yet vultures are interesting birds and 

 if given opportunit}-, prove to be as clean feed- 

 ers as their more noble brethren — the eagles and 

 hawks. If given a choice between two pieces of 

 meat, one fresh and the other spoiled, a vulture 

 will invariably choose the former. 



Vultures occupy a unique position in the econ- 

 omy of nature. Although strictly carniverous 

 in diet, they are unable to kill prey for them- 

 selves. They have the strong, hooked beak of 

 other raptores, but their toes and claws lack the 

 strong muscles that give to eagles such formid- 

 able means of attack. Thus the vultures live 

 Tantalus-like, ever in sight of abundant food 

 and yet unable to satisfy themselves except by 

 the accidental death of some creature. 



To cope successfully with these hard condi- 



tions, vultures have acquired certain peculiar 

 characteristics. Their prey falls to them in often 

 large quantities but at very irregular intervals, 

 and they are able to take advantage of a time 

 of plenty and gorge themselves to repletion, de- 

 vouring a surprisingly large amount of food. 

 On the other hand, they possess remarkable 

 ])owers of fasting, and can retain their strength 

 during a period of five or six weeks abstinence 

 from food. 



The third characteristic of vultures relating 

 to their predatory handicap is their wonderful 

 eye-sight. There is little doubt that this sur- 

 passes even that of the hawks and eagles, and 

 probably represents the highest development of 

 the power of vision of any living creature. It 

 has been proved conclusively that they find their 

 food by the sense of sight alone, and indeed ap- 

 parently lack the sense of smell. 



During a trip to a wild part of Mexico I once 

 noted an incident which illustrates this unusual 

 vision, and gives a hint of the extreme compe- 

 tition for food which vultures must ever endure. 



At the edge of a stream, I once undertook to 

 prepare an armadillo for the pot. His tough 

 skin made it a rather difficult and engrossing 

 task, and for some twenty minutes I did not 

 look up from my work. While on my way to 

 the water I had tiioughtlessly noticed a single 

 black speck high up overhead, so usual a sight 



