THK COXDOK. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 



TROPICAL BIRDS OF TUEY. 



The Condor— His Marvellous Flight — Ilis Cowardice-- Various Modes of Cap- 

 turing Condors — Ancient Fables circulated about them — Comparison of the 

 Condor with the Albatross — The Carrion Vultures — The King of the Vultures 

 —Domestication of the Urubu — Its Extraordinary Memory — The Harpy Eagle 

 — Examples of his Ferocity — The Oricou — The Bacha — His Cruelty to the 

 Klipdachs — The Fishing Eagle of Africa — The Musical Sparrow-hawk — The 

 Secretary Eagle. 



rPHE flight of the Condor is truly wonderful. From the 

 X mountain-plains of the Andes, the royal bird, soaring aloft, 

 appears only like a small black speck on the sky, and a few 

 hours afterwards he descends to the coast and mixes his loud 

 screech witli the roar of the surf. No living creature rise^ 

 vohintavily so high, none traverses in so short a time all the 

 climates of the globe. He rests at night in the crevices of the 

 rocks, or on some jutting ledge ; but as soon as the first rays of 

 tlie sun light the high mountain peaks, while the darkness 

 of night still rests upon the deeper valleys, he stretches forth 

 liis neck, shakes his head as if fully to rouse himself, stoops 

 over the brink of the abyss, and flapping his wings, dives into 

 the aerial ocean. At first his flight is by no means strong ; he 

 sinks as if borne down by his weight ; but soon he ascends, and 



