THE VULTURE. 21 



to know a newly dead lizard or a snake, from a lizard 

 or a snake basking quite motionless in the sun ? If 

 its eye be the director to its food, what blunders 

 must it not make in the negro-yards in Demerara, 

 where broods of ducks and fowls are always to be 

 found the day through, either sleeping or basking in 

 the open air. Still the negro, whom habit has 

 taught to know the Vultur Aura from a hawk, does 

 not consider him an enemy. But let a hawk ap- 

 proach the negro-yard, all will be in commotion, and 

 the yells of the old women will be tremendous. 

 Were you to kill a fowl and place it in the yard with 

 the live ones, it would remain there unnoticed by 

 the vulture as long as it was sweet ; but, as soon as 

 it became offensive, you would see the Vultur Aura 

 approach it, and begin to feed upon it, or carry it 

 away, without showing any inclination to molest the 

 other fowls which might be basking in the neigh- 

 bourhood. When I carried Lord Collingwood's 

 despatches up the Orinoco, to the city of Angus- 

 tura, I there saw the common vultures of Guiana 

 nearly as tame as turkeys. The Spaniards protected 

 them, and considered them in the light of useful 

 scavengers. Though they were flying about the 

 city in all directions, and at times perching upon 

 the tops of the houses, still many of the people, 

 young and old, took their siesta in the open air, 

 " their custom always of the afternoon," and had 

 no fear of being ripped up and devoured by the 

 surrounding vultures. If the vulture has no ex- 

 traordinary powers of smelling, which faculty, I am 

 c 3 



