216 



BIRDS IX THEIR RELATIONS TO MAX. 



It was formerly supposed that these birds discovered their 

 food through the sense of smell, but a number of experiments 

 by Audubon seem to prove conclusively that they depend 

 upon sight rather than smell. In one of these experiments 

 " a dead hare, a pheasant, and a kestrel, together with a 

 wheelbarrow full of offal from the slaughter-pens, were de- 

 posited on the ground at the foot of my garden. A frame 

 was raised above it at a distance of twelve inches from the 



TURKEY-BUZZARDS. 

 (After Brehm.) 



earth ; this was covered with brushwood, allowing the air to 

 pass freely beneath it so as to convey the effluvium far and 

 wide." Although left for nearly a month, with hundreds of 

 vultures passing over it daily, none of them discovered its 

 presence. Another time a perfectly dry stuffed deerskin was 

 placed in a field, and immediately attracted the vultures, 

 which were of course unable to get any food. To test still 

 further whether the birds were attracted by sight alone, "a 



