56 VERT Eli RATA. 



iiaki'tl skill of a livui yi-Uowish (•()l()r; the whole jihmiairo is pure white, except the great quill- 

 feathers, which are lijack; feathers of the oe(;ij)ut long and loose; cere orange, iris yellow, iiiau- 

 iliMes l.laekish; feet livid yellow, claws black, tail very iiuich graduated; length two feet and a 

 few inches. It.s plumage varies nnich, according to age. It does not congregate, except when an 

 all-attractive carcass calls them together, hut goes in pairs, the male and female seldom parting 

 et»mpany In the tlistricts whicli the species iidiahits, every group of the natives has a pair of 

 these vultures attached to it. The birds roost on the trees in the vicinity, or on the fences wdiich 

 bound the inclosures formed for the cattle. They are to a certain degree domiciled and are harm- 

 less The people do them n» injury ; on the contrary, tiny are glad to see and encourage them, 

 because they clean the i>remises of all the offal and tilth they can find. In default of other food 

 thev eat frogs, lizards, and snakes. They are most common in Africa, but are also often seen in 

 Southern Europe and in Asia. 



The Monk Nkophkox, 3". monachus, is a species of Western Africa. 



Genus SARC0R.\MPI1US : sarcommphus. — Of this there is a single species, the King Vul- 

 ture, or King of the Vultures — the iribubicha of Azara, and the Cozcaquauhtli or Queen of 

 the VulfiireSy of the Mexicans — S. papa. The naked skin of the head and neck is brilliantly 

 colored ; beak reddish, with a shade of black ; cere bright orange — prolonged between the nos- 

 trils into a comb about an inch and a half long — loose in texture, and falling on either side of the 

 bill when the head is erect ; back of the head covered with short down inclining to black. On 

 each side beliind the eye several broad and deep wrinkles of the skin, whence rises a thick and 

 prominent fold extending obliquely downward along the neck, reddish-brown mixed with blue, 

 and marked with many lines of small black hairs. From the bright-red upper part of the neck 

 the color gradually lessens in intensity, fading into orange and yellow toward the lower part. 

 Round the bottom of the neck is a broad ruff of soft, downy, deep ashy-gray feathers. It is 

 found in all the tropical parts of America, and is fi-equently met with as far north as Florida. It 

 frequents the plains and wooded hills, feeding on dead carcasses, sometimes making a meal of 

 what the jaguar has left. It often sits aloft on the branch of a dead tree, watching for hours the 

 herds of cattle, and, when opportunity offers, pouncing down on a new-born calf, ere yet it is able 

 to stand M. D'Orbigny saw a poor cow standing with her calf between her legs, and by her 

 horns and her bellowings keeping off a flock of vultures that sought to devour the helpless young 

 animal. The name of King of the Vultures is bestowed partly on account of the red fleshy wattle, 

 which appears like a diadem on his head, and partly also on account of the tyranny which he 

 exercises over the smaller kinds of vultures, which stand aloof, not daring to approach, while he 

 is making his gluttonous repast. 



The Sacred Vulture, S. sacer ; described as found in Florida by Bartram many years ago, 

 has not since been identified. The crown of the head is red ; the skin of the neck is bar- and 

 annulated nearly to the breast. The plumage is white or cream-colored, except the quill-feathers 

 of the wings, which are dark brown ; the tail is white, tipped with brown. It has been con- 

 jectured that this bird may have belonged to some one of the species we have described. 



Genus CONDOR : Gryphus. — This includes a single species, the Condor — the Great Vulture 

 of the Andes ; G. typus of Isidore Geoftroy. It is the largest known bird of prey, being about 

 four feet long, with nine feet average expanse of wing, sometimes, however, extending to fourteen; 

 still it is but little larger than the lammergeyer, but there is something in its majestic flight, its 

 ponderous aspect, and the sublime scenery among which it is observed, that makes it appear alto- 

 gether more gigantic than any other bird. Even to Humboldt, when traveling among the tower- 

 ing Andes — seeing it perched on the steepling cliffs, or nestling upon the mountain heights at 

 the verge of perpetual snow — it had the appearance of a winged giant, and it was not until he 

 had made repeated measurements that the illusion vanished. 



The real facts in the case are, however, sufficiently startling. "These birds," says Nuttall, "are 

 known to soar to an elevation almost six times greater than that at which the clouds are ordina- 

 rily suspended over our heads. At the immense height of nearly six perpendicular miles, the 

 condor is seen majestically sailing in the ethereal space, watchfully surveying the vast expanse in 

 quest of his accustomed prey. Elevated farther above our planet than any other animal, impelled 



