THE SCAVENGER FAMILY 195 
sails around as if he weighed nothing, with wing 
feathers spread at the tip like fingers. But he is 
not so pretty when he comes to the ground, for 
he is very clumsy and awkward in getting about. 
The turkey buzzard nests almost anywhere ; 
he is not at all particular — on the ground, in a 
hollow stump, or tree. The young are comfort- 
ably dressed in white down, but they are not 
pretty. They are as awkward as their parents, 
and have a way of hanging their heads as if 
they were ashamed of themselves. That is not 
the reason, however; their work is something 
we could not do without. It is because they are 
too weak to hold themselves up. 
I once sawa funny sight. A party of eighteen 
or twenty great buzzards had come to the ground 
to get their dinner. They were all very busily 
engaged just the other side of a fence, so that I 
could not see them at their feast. 
Suddenly a mockingbird that I was watching 
flew over and alighted on the fence. He stood 
there a minute, looking sharply down at them, 
and flirting his tail in a saucy way. All at once, 
to my great surprise, he gave a loud cry and 
flung himself down right among the great birds. 
I was frightened. I thought one peck from 
one of their strong beaks would kill the little 
fellow. But instead of that, the whole party of 
