PURE V. 



163 



, and lay from i\\<> t . lour eggs. The fe- 

 male in the pn<la< ,.MI |iird> it aluay.s larger 

 than the ni ih ; and the whole trilu-, according 

 to Liima-us, may In- < d as analogous to 



the Order i 'lonir ijiiadnipi iN. 



Oi* tin- preda< iom tribe tlu- first genus or 



of rultur. It- cliicf character is, a 

 beak of a somewhat lengthened form, running 

 .strait to some distance, but curving strongly at 

 tht tip: it has no cere or naked membrane at 

 base: th.- In ad and neck, in most species, 

 are bare of feathers, being covered only with a 

 kind of down. '1 h s of Vultures are con- 



:ahly numerous, and they inhabit almost all 

 tin wanner parts of the globe, but are not so 

 oiuii seen in the Northern regions, where their 

 >cnce would be less necessary. They are 

 rved to prey on dead animals in preference 

 to living ones, and as they are always on the 

 watch for those, and prefer such as are in a 

 putrid state, they may be considered as the Sca- 

 vengers of Nature in the animal world, and are 

 ot extreme utility in the hotter regions, by quickly 

 removing all such animal remains as would other- 

 \\ie tend to infect the air. 



