606 REPTILES AND BIRDS. 



And true enough, for happening to be present the following week 

 at a similar performance at the mission of Magdalena, distant twenty 

 leagues from Concepcion, I heard the Indians cry out, and soon 

 recognised the lame Urubu, just arrived. The cures of the two 

 missions informed me that this bird never failed to be present on the 

 fixed days at both places. This fact would seem to indicate a very 

 high degree of instinct in the Urubu, combined with memory/' 



According as it inhabits country or town, the Urubu passes the 

 night on branches of trees or roofs of houses. As soon as it is light 

 in the morning it proceeds to search for food ; and, describing wide 

 circles in the air, explores the neighbourhood. If it perceives a 

 carcase, it pitches on it, and, from the power with which its beak 

 is furnished, soon effects an opening through the hide into the 

 intestines. But its movements have been watched by others, and 

 soon thousands arrive to take part in the putrid banquet. Con- 

 tests and fights, wrangling and struggling, in which the strongest is 

 triumphant, then arise. In an incredibly short time the carcase is 

 devoured, and nothing remains but a skeleton, the bones of which 

 are cleaned as thoroughly as if done by an anatomist. The Urubus 

 afterwards perch in the neighbourhood, and with their necks drawn 

 back between their shoulders, and their wings extended, rapidly 

 .digest their food. The Urubus, like most of the Vulture family, 

 spread their wings out for hours, although in a state of repose. The 

 cause of this habit is that the attitude permits them to exhale from 

 their bodies a kind of greasy perspiration. 



In spite of the services which this bird renders man it is still 

 regarded with the greatest repugnance. Nevertheless, D'Orbigny 

 states that he has seen some completely tamed, and that they appeared 

 susceptible of affection. This naturalist also relates that a Creole 

 had one of these birds, which he had reared, and that it accompanied 

 its master wherever he went. At one time its master having fallen 

 ill, the bird became .very sad ; but finding one day that the window 

 of the sick-room was left open, it flew in, and came close to the 

 invalid, manifesting by its caresses the joy it felt at seeing him again. 



The Turkey Buzzard ( Vultur aura) is a native of the same hemi- 

 sphere as the preceding species, but is more addicted to temperate 

 climates. It is met with as far north as the shores of the great chain 

 of lakes which sever Upper Canada from the United States. It is 

 the same size as the Urubu, and its habits of life are nearly identical. 

 Like the Urubu, too, it is protected by the laws. In Peru, for 

 instance, any one who kills an Aura is punished by a fine of fifty 

 piastres ; in Cuba, the culprit is excommunicated. They are capable 



