196 ^. CRUZ, PATAGONIA * chap. 



hidden mass on which they were trampHng. These facts are 

 attested by the signatures of six gentlemen, besides that of Mr. 

 Bachman.^ 



Often when lying down to rest on the open plains, on 

 looking upwards, 1 have seen carrion-hawks sailing through the 

 air at a great height. Where the country is level I do not 

 believe a space of the heavens, oi more than fifteen degrees 

 above the horizon, is commonly viewed with any attention by a 

 person either walking or on horseback. If such be the case, 

 and the vulture is on the wing at a height of between three and 

 four thousand feet, before it could come within the range of 

 vision, its distance in a straight line from the beholder's 

 eye would be rather more than two British miles. Might it 

 not thus readily be overlooked ? When an animal is killed by 

 the sportsman in a lonely valley, may he not all the while be 

 watched from above by the sharp-sighted bird ? And will not 

 the manner of its descent proclaim throughout the district 

 to the whole family of carrion - feeders, that their prey is at 

 hand ? 



When the condors are wheeling in a flock round and round 

 any spot, their flight is beautiful. Except when rising from the 

 ground, I do not recollect ever having seen one of these birds 

 flap its wings. Near Lima, I watched several for nearly half an 

 hour, without once taking off my eyes : they moved in large 

 curves, sweeping in circles, descending and ascending without 

 giving a single flap. As they glided close over my head, I 

 intently watched from an oblique position the outlines of the 

 separate and great terminal feathers of each wing ; and these 

 separate feathers, if there had been the least vibratory move- 

 ment, would have appeared as if blended together ; but they 

 were seen distinct against the blue sky. The head and neck 

 were moved frequently, and apparently with force ; and the 

 extended wings seemed to form 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 when again expanded with an altered inclination, the 

 momentum gained by the rapid descent seemed to urge the 

 bird upwards with the even and steady movement of a paper 

 kite. In the case of any bird soaring, its motion must be 

 ^ Loudon's Magazine of Nat. Hist. vol. vii. 



