THE TURKEY BUZZARD. 39 



disappointed. Again, suppose the leader were to 

 round to and fall upon a stuffed deerskin, and dilly 

 dally his time away in reconnoitring it, would not 

 the rest, on coming up, have just reason to be much 

 out of temper? Our author continues, "If the ob- 

 ject discovered is large, lately dead, and covered 

 with a skin too tough to be ate and torn asunder" 

 (cart before the horse), " and afford free scope to 

 their appetite, they remain about it, and in the 

 neighbourhood. Perched on high dead limbs, in 

 such conspicuous positions, they are easily seen by 

 other vultures, who through habit know the meaning 

 of such stoppages, and join the first flock, going also 

 directly, and affording further evidence, to those 

 who are satisfied with appearances only. In this 

 manner I have seen several hundreds of vultures 

 and carrion crows assembled near a dead ox, at the 

 dusk of evening, that had only two or three in 

 the morning; when some of the latter comers had 

 probably travelled hundreds of miles, searching 

 diligently themselves for food, and probably would 

 have had to go much farther had they not espied this 

 association." A little after this, having described 

 the manner in which the "famished cannibals" sa- 

 tisfied their hunger, the author says, " The repast 

 finished, each bird gradually rises to the highest 

 branches of the nearest trees, and remains there, 

 until the digestion of all the food they " (instead of 

 it) " have" (has) " swallowed is completed." 



Here we have, perched on high trees, flocks of 

 vultures waiting till their dinner be sufficiently 

 tender ; and also flocks of vultures waiting on the 

 D 4 



