ACCIPITRKS. BIRDS.- 



243 



the red naked skin upon the head. The same general 

 similarity to the gallinaceous birds, which indeed pre- 

 vails more or less throughout the Vultures, is also 

 expressed in the name of Gallinazo, which appears to 

 be common to both the species whose names stand at 

 the head of the present article. The Turkey vulture 

 measures about two feet and a half in length, and six 

 feet in expanse of wing. The general colour of its 

 plumage is a sooty brown, with the back and shoulders 

 blackish. The naked skin of the head and neck is 

 reddish, beset with scattered black hairs ; and the back 

 of the neck is covered with blackish down. These 

 birds are found not only over the greater part of South 

 America, but also in the southern states of the North 

 American Union ; and during the summer they even 

 extend their range still further towards the north. 

 They are very gregarious in their habits, and congre- 

 gate in great numbers in the neighbourhood of the 

 towns and villages, where they perform the most 

 valuable service in devouring the carrion and offal, 

 which, in many districts of South America especially, 

 are far too abundant to be conducive to the health of 

 the human inhabitants. So numerous are the birds, 

 that Humboldt tells us he has seen seventy or eighty 

 of them at once surrounding a dead ox ; and he adds, 

 that, as mentioned in the preceding article, the appear- 

 ance of a single king vulture in the midst of this crowd 

 is quite sufficient to stop their gormandizing, until the 

 new-comer has satisfied his no less ravenous appetite. 

 By their human neighbours the vultures are never 

 disturbed. The beneficial nature of their operations is 

 thoroughly understood by the inhabitants of the coun- 

 tries frequented by them, and everywhere they are 

 under the protection of the laws, so that to kill one 

 of them would in most places subject the offender to 

 a fine ; whilst in Cuba, according to M. D'Orbigny, 

 excommunication is not regarded as too severe a 

 punishment. D'Azara states that this vulture, if 

 trained early, will acquire so much attachment to its 

 ' master as to follow him on a journey for many miles. 

 The flight of the Turkey vulture is described as being 

 exceedingly lofty and elegant. " On a fine day," says 

 Mr. Darwin, " a flock may be observed at a great 

 height, each bird wheeling round and round, without 

 closing its wings, in the most graceful evolutions. 

 This is clearly done for sport's sake, or perhaps is 

 connected with their matrimonial alliances." Accord- 

 ing to Mr. Gosse, the soaring of these vultures in 

 flocks is regarded in Jamaica as indicative of a thunder- 

 storm ; and he says that at other times they are gene- 

 rally seen singly or in pairs. According to the writer 

 just quoted, the Turkey vulture, called the John Crow 

 vulture in Jamaica, would appear occasionally to kill 

 his own game, at least if he can meet with a weakly 

 lamb or pig at a distance from its mother. He will 

 also venture to attack a large hog if it be lying in a 

 sick condition, picking out its eyes ; but first dis 

 charging his excrements upon it, to see whether it is 

 strong enough to rise, which this indignity rarely fails 

 to effect, if the creature is still capable of any exertion. 

 It was from his observations upon this species that 

 Audubon was led to maintain, that the vultures are 

 guided to their prey rather by the faculty of sight than by 



that of smell. He found that they would soon descend 

 ;o attack the stuffed skin of an animal when exposed in 

 the open air ; whilst the carcass of a hog, which was 

 concealed under the bushes in a ravine, remained 

 innoticed by them, although many of them flew over 

 the spot, and it ultimately became so offensive that 

 Audubon himself could not venture to approach it. 

 Mr. Gosse, from his observations on the species in 

 Jamaica, seems to think that both the senses of smell 

 and sight may co-operate in betraying to the bird the 

 presence of its food, and that those naturalists who 

 attribute this to either of these senses exclusively are 

 in error. In support of the view that the olfactory 

 organs have something to do in the matter, he relates 

 the following anecdote " A poor German immigrant," 

 he says, " who lived alone in a detached cottage, rose 

 from his bed after a two days' confinement by fever, 

 to purchase in the market some fresh meat for a little 

 soup. Before he could do more than prepare the 

 several ingredients of herbs and roots, and put his 

 meat in water for the preparation of his pottage, the 

 paroxysm of fever had returned, and he laid himself 

 upon his bed exhausted. Two days elapsed in this 

 state of helplessness and inanition ; by which time the 

 mass of meat and pot herbs had putrefied, the stench 

 becoming very perceptible in the neighbourhood. 

 Vulture after vulture, as they sailed past, were observed 

 always to descend to the cottage of the German, and 

 to sweep round, as if they had tracked some putrid 

 carcass, but failed to find exactly where it was." 

 This led the neighbours to break open the door, when 

 the man was found in a state of utter exhaustion, and 

 his preparations for soup-making in a most intolerably 

 offensive condition. 



The Urubu, or Black vulture, as it is sometimes 

 called, closely resembles the preceding in its appear- 

 ance and habits, so much so indeed, that as both are 

 found in precisely the same countries, the two species 

 have frequently been confounded together. The Uru- 

 bus are exceedingly common in Peru, where, according 

 to Tschudi, they sit in incredible numbers on the roofs 

 of the houses and along the walls of the streets, exposed 

 to the full blaze of the noonday sun, and sleeping with 

 their heads under their wings. 



A third species of the genus Cathartes has been 

 described, namely, the CALIFOHNIAN VULTURE (Cath- 

 artes Calif ornianui). It resembles the preceding 

 both in form and size ; but was formerly supposed to 

 rival the condor in the latter particular. The general 

 colour of the plumage is black, with the tips of the 

 secondary feathers white. The head and neck are 

 covered with a rather smooth, naked, red skin. 



FAMILY II. FALCONID^. 



The Falconidaj include not only the true Falcons, 

 but also the numerous hawks and eagles, nearly all of 

 which exhibit a predaceous disposition of a far more 

 decided character than that of the vultures. The 

 birds of this family are indeed for the most part of an 

 exceedingly rapacious nature, generally feeding prin- 

 cipally upon prey captured by themselves, and only 

 condescending to devour such dead carcasses as they 



