860 THE CONDOR. 



it expands its wings, nine feet from tij:* to tip. Off it flies 

 from its rocky perch, now appearing to sink with its own 

 weight ; but, gradually rising, it soars aloft, even above the 

 glittering dome of Chimborazo, no vibration seen in its 

 powerful wings. Higher and higher it soars, till it appears a 

 mere speck in the blue ether ; then, lost to the sight of 

 human eye, darts rapidly downwards towards the sultry coast 

 of the Pacific, there to prey upon the putrefying carcasses of 

 animals it may espy from afar. 



On that lofty pinnacle, or some jutting ledge near it, the 

 female has laid its two eggs, and here it rears its young. 

 The eggs are large and white, and laid upon the bare rock. 

 The young are covered with a whitish down, and, it is said, 

 are unable to fly for an entire year. Few other birds can fly 

 to so great a distance above the earth. It appears to respire 

 as easily in the most rarefied air as on the sea-shore. They 

 do not live in pairs, like the eagle, but several are generally 

 found together. When an animal falls dead, a number of the 

 vast birds are soon seen coming from afar to feast on the car- 

 cass. 



Great as is the altitude to which the condor can fly, and 

 although it ranges through clouds and storms to the southern 

 end of the Andes, it is not found to the north of Panama. 



The condor is a true vulture, gorging itself on dead and putrid 

 carcasses. It will also attack the young Uama, as well as 

 lambs and calves, which it carries away in its powerful talons. 

 This makes it dreaded and hated by the shepherds of the hills 

 and plains alike, who seek its destruction by a variety of 

 means. Fire-arms are, however, useless, as its thick and 

 strongly-constructed coat of feathers will turn aside a bullet. 

 Besides, it is so tenacious of life, that one has been known 



