146 



Crcatfurp of Natural $?ttorj); 



CONDOR. (Sarcoramphits gryplms.) A 

 large species of vulture, the most exaggerated 

 descriptions of whose size, as given by the 

 earlier writers and naturalists, caused it to 

 be long regarded as a giant of the feathered 

 race, whose bulk darkened the air, and the 

 rushing of whose mighty wings could only 

 be compared to the roaring of a cataract. 

 But these tales of wonder, like others of a 

 similar nature, have lately given place to 

 the sober reasonings of scientific truth, which, 

 while correcting the extravagance of error, 

 still leave us sufficient room for rational ad- 

 miration. The Condor is found in the high- 

 est and most inaccessible part of the Andes, 

 over the loftiest summits of which it soars, 

 in clear weather, to an amazing height. 

 The elevation it chooses as its breeding-place 



CONDOR. (SARCORAMPHDS GRYPHUS.) 



and habitual residence varies from 10,000 to 



i 15,000 feet above the level of the sea ; and 



here, on some isolated pinnacle or jutting 



i ledge, it rears its brood. " The old birds," 



! says Mr. Darwin, "generally live in pairs ; 



but among the inland basaltic cliffs of the 



Santa Cruz, I found a spot where scores 



most usually haunt ; on coming suddenly to 



the brow of the precipice, it was a grand 



| spectacle to see between twenty and thirty 



of these great birds start heavily from their 



resting-place, and wheel away in majestic 



I circles." "Except when rising from the 



, ground," he adds, " I do not recollect ever 



I having seen one of these birds flap its wings. 



j Near Lima I watched several for nearly half 



I an hour without once taking off my eyes. 



1 They moved in large curves, sweeping in 



circles, descending and ascending without 



once flapping. As they glided close over my 



head, I intently watched from an oblique 



position the outlines of the separate and 



terminal feathers of the wing ; if there had 



been the least vibratory movement, these 



would have blended together; but they 



were seen distinct against the blue sky. The 



head and neck were moved frequently, and 



apparently with force ; and it appeared as if 



the extended wings formed the fulcrum on 



which the movements of the neck, body, and 



tail acted. If the bird wished to descend, 



the wings were for a moment collapsed ; and 



! then, when again expanded with an altered 



I inclination, the momentum gained by the 



rapid descent seemed to urge the bird up- 



i wards with the even and steady movement 



of a paper kite." The Condor feeds, like 



other vultures, chiefly on dead carcasses, but 



two will frequently unite their forces to 



overpower and devour the puma, the lama, 

 and other large animals. It occasionally 

 descends to the plains in search of food ; but 

 the stories of its attacking children are quite 

 fabulous. It makes no nest, but lays two 

 large white eggs on a shelf of bare rock. The 

 young birds for many months are covered 

 only with a fine thick down, and are said to 

 remain with the parent bird, unable to fly, 

 for an entire year. At mature age the 

 prevailing colour of the male is glossy black, 

 with a tinge of grey. The greater wing- 

 coverts, except at the base and tips, and the 

 secondary quill-feathers, are white ; and a 

 white ruff of downy feathers encircles the 

 base of the neck : the crest, or comb, which 

 is fleshy, or rather cartilaginous, occupies 

 the top of the head and about a fourth part 

 of the beak, and is entirely wanting in the 

 female : the skin of the neck is dilated 

 under the throat into a kind of wattle, and 

 along the sides of the neck runs a wrinkled | 

 skinny stripe or band, the processes of which 

 are moveable at will. The tail is broad and 

 somewhat wedge-shaped. Length about 

 four feet ; expanse of wing about nine feet : 

 tarsi powerful. Various traps and strata- 

 gems are made use of to capture the Condors, 

 the lasso being among the number. The 

 genus Sarcoramphus is peculiar to the New 

 World, and contains, besides the Condor, 

 the King-vulture, and Californian vulture. 



CONDYLURA. (Condylura cristata.) A 

 mole-like animal of North America, which 

 has the termination of the nostrils sur- 

 rounded by movable cartilaginous points, 

 that radiate like a star when expanded. The 



head is remarkably large ; the body thick 

 and short, growing narrower towards the 

 tail ; which is small at the root, large in the 

 middle, and tapering to a fine point at the 

 tip : the fur on the body is very soft, fine, 

 and shining. In Kalm's description of this 

 animal, he says, "It had greater stiffness 

 and strength in its legs than I ever observed 

 in other animals, in proportion to their size. 

 Whenever it intended to dig, it held its legs | 

 obliquely like oars. I laid my handkerchief 

 before it, and it began to stir in it with the 

 snout ; and taking away the handkerchief 

 to see what it had done to it, I found that 

 in the space of a minute it had made it full 

 of holes, and it looked as if it had been 

 pierced very much by an awl. I was obliged 

 to put some books on the cover of the box 

 in which I kept this animal, or else it was 

 flung off immediately. It was very irascible, 

 and would bite great holes into anything 

 that was put in its way : I held a steel pen- 

 case to it ; it at first bit at it with great vio- 

 lence, but having felt its hardness, it would 

 not venture again to bite at anything." 



