] 14 THE VULTURE. 



they prefer : and justly merit, by tlie voracity with which 

 they devour the most offensive carrion, the name of Sca- 

 vengers, in some countries, where they are never destroyed, in 

 consequence of the good they do, by consuming the bodies of 

 animals that might, but for the assistance of the Vultures, 

 breed a pestilence in the hot climates where they most abound. 

 A traveller in Africa having killed two buffaloes, and directed 

 his party to cut them up piecemeal, and hang the various 

 joints on the branches round their tents, that they might be 

 dried up under the scorching beams of a burning sun, found 

 himself suddenly surrounded by a flight of these birds, who 

 actually carried off the flesh, notwithstanding the efforts made 

 to drive away or destroy them by shouting, throwing, or even 

 shooting at them. As fast as one dropped, another supplied 

 his place. Another English traveller, who marched for some 

 days with an army in Abyssinia, in a different part of Africa, 

 speaks of their numbers as to be compared to the sand of the 

 sea, extending over the troops like a black cloud ; they were 

 also more courageous than some other species ; for he once 

 saw one strike an Eagle to the ground, which had accidentally 

 straggled into a host of Vultures, assembled to feed on the 

 dead soon after a battle. 



They are, however, sometimes more dainty in their choice 

 of food ; as in Egypt, where, during the season when croco- 

 diles and alligators lay their eggs in the sand, these cunning 

 birds will sit, hid in the leaves of the trees, watching the 

 females coming on shore to lay their eggs, which, when laid, 

 they cover carefully with sand, thinking, no .doubt, that they 

 are thus safe from all danger, and sure to be hatched in regular 

 course of time by the warmth of the soil, heated as it is by 

 the sun ; but no sooner does she retire, than the concealed 

 birds glide down, and with claws, wings, and beak, tear away 

 the sand, and quickly devour the hidden treasures. 



A dead crocodile or alligator is equally acceptable ; but as 

 these reptiles are furnished with strong horny or scaly coats, 

 like armour, much too strong to be opened and broken into, 

 by either beaks or claws, the Vultures are often obliged to 

 wait for a long time until the hide of the carcase loosens, and 



