THE TURKEY BUZZARD. 39 
disappointed. Again, suppose the leader were to 
round to and fall upon a stuffed deerskin, and dilly 
dally his time away in reconnoitring it, would not 
the rest, on coming up, have just reason to be much 
out of temper? Our author continues, “ If the ob- 
ject discovered is large, lately dead, and covered 
with a skin too tough to be ate and torn asunder” 
(cart before the horse), “‘ and afford free scope to 
their appetite, they remain about it, and in the 
neighbourhood. Perched on high dead limbs, in 
such conspicuous positions, they are easily seen by 
other vultures, who through habit know the meaning 
of such stoppages, and join the first flock, going also 
directly, and affording further evidence, to those’ 
who are satisfied with appearances only. In this 
manner I have seen several hundreds of vultures 
and carrion crows assembled near a dead ox, at the 
dusk of evening, that had only two or three in 
the morning; when some of the latter comers had 
probably travelled hundreds of miles, searching 
diligently themselves for food, and probably would . 
have had to go much farther had they not espied this 
association.” A little after this, having described 
the manner in which the ‘‘famished cannibals” sa- 
tisfied their hunger, the author says, “ The repast 
finished, each bird gradually rises to the highest 
branches of the nearest trees, and remains there, 
until the digestion of all the food they” (instead of 
it) “ have” (has) “swallowed is completed.” 
Here we have, perched on high trees, flocks of 
vultures waiting till their dinner be sufficiently 
tender; and also flocks of vultures waiting on the 
D 4 
