18 



THE BLACK VULTURE. 



The movements of the hunters are carefully watched by the Black Vulture, which follows 

 their course with eagerness, knowing how often they may wound an animal which may be able 

 to escape them for a time, but is sure at last to fall a prey to its relentless winged pursuer. 

 Oftentimes the hunters will kill a bison or a deer merely for the sake of the skin, the marrow- 

 bones, or the hump, leaving the remainder on the ground for the benefit of the Zopilotes and 

 the wolves, who soon strip the bones of every particle of the flesh. 



According to Don Ulloa, the Zopilotes deserve the gratitude of mankind for the part which 

 they play in destroying the eggs of the alligator, and assisting in keeping down the number 

 of this prolific and dangerous reptile. During the summer, the Zopilote watches the female 

 alligator as she comes to the sandy river-shore for the purpose of depositing her eggs, and 



BLACK VULTURE. Catharista atrata. 



permits the reptile to complete her task without any interruption. Scarcely, however, is the 

 alligator fairly out of the way, than the Zopilote issues from its place of concealment, and 

 throwing the sand aside with its bill, feet and wings, disinters the eggs, breaks the shells, and 

 swallows their contents. 



Of the voracity of these birds, Wilson gives the following graphic account : 



" A horse had dropped down in the street in convulsions : and dying, it was dragged out 

 of town and skinned. The ground for a hundred yards around it was black with carrion 

 crows ; many sat on the tops of sheds, fences, and houses within sight ; sixty or eighty on the 

 opposite side of a small river. I counted at one time two hundred and thirty-seven, and I 

 believe there were more, besides several in the air, over .my head and at a distance. I ven- 

 tured cautiously within thirty yards of the carcase, where three or four dogs and twenty or 

 thirty Vultures were busy tearing and devouring. 



"Seeing them take no notice, I ventured nearer, till I was within ten yards, and sat down 

 on the bank. Still they paid little attention to me. The dogs, being sometimes accidentally 

 flapped by the wings of the Vultures, would growl and snap at them, which would occasion 

 them to spring up for a moment, but they immediately gathered in again. I remarked the 

 Vultures frequently attack each other, fighting with their claws or heels, striking like a cock, 

 with open wings, and fixing their claws into each other's heads. The females, and I believe 

 the males likewise, made a hissing sound with open mouth, exactly resembling that produced 



