THE SCAVENGERS 



of it one may come upon them in wide, 

 quiet canons, or on the lookouts of lonely, 

 table-topped mountains, three or four to- 

 gether, in the tops of stubby trees or on 

 rotten cliffs well open to the sky. 



It is probable that the buzzard is grega- 

 rious, but it seems unlikely from the small 

 number of young noted at any time that 

 every female incubates each year. The 

 young birds are easily distinguished by 

 their size when feeding, and high up in air 

 by the worn primaries of the older birds. 

 It is when the young go out of the nest 

 on their first foraging that the parents, 

 full of a crass and simple pride, make their 

 indescribable chucklings of gobbling, glut- 

 tonous delight. The little ones would be 

 amusing as they tug and tussle, if one 

 could forget what it is they feed upon. 



One never comes any nearer to the vul- 

 52 



