AVES CATHARTID^. 535 



may often be seen hunting by itself. At the mouth of the Santa Cruz, 

 during part of April and May, a pair of old birds might be seen every day, 

 either perched on a certain ledge, or sailing about in company with a single 

 young one, which latter, though full fledged, had not its white ruff. 



The Condors generally live by pairs ; but among the basaltic cliffs of 

 the plains, high up the river Santa Cruz, I found a spot where scores 

 must usually haunt. They were not shy; and on coming suddenly to 

 the brow of the precipice, it was a fine sight to see some twenty or thirty 

 of these great birds start heavily from their resting place, and wheel away 

 in majestic circles. From the large quantity of dung on the rocks, they 

 must have long frequented this cliff; and probably they both roost and 

 breed there. Having gorged themselves with carrion on the plains below, 

 they retire to these favorite ledges to digest their food in quietness. 

 From these facts, the Condor must, to a certain degree be considered, 

 like the Gallinazo (Catharies afrafus), a gregarious bird. In this part of 

 the country they live almost entirely on guanacoes, which have either 

 died a natural death, or, as more commonly happens, have been killed 

 by the pumas. I believe, from what I saw in Patagonia, that they do 

 not, on ordinary occasions, extend their daily excursions to any great dis- 

 tance from their regular sleeping places. 



"The Condors may often be seen at great height, soaring over a cer- 

 tain spot in the most graceful spires and circles. On some occasions I 

 am sure they do this for their sport ; but on others, the Chileno country- 

 man tells you, that they are watching a dying animal, or the puma devour- 

 ing its prey. If the Condors glide down, and then suddenly all rise 

 together, the Chileno knows it is the puma, which, watching the carcass, 

 has sprung out to drive away the robbers. Besides feeding on carrion, 

 the Condors frequently attack young goats and lambs. Hence the 

 shepherds train their dogs the moment the enemy passes over, to run out, 

 and looking upwards, to bark violently. The Chilenos destroy and catch 

 numbers ; two methods are used ; one is to place a carcass within an 

 enclosure of sticks on a level piece of ground, and when the Condors 

 have gorged themselves to gallop on horseback to the entrance, and thus 

 enclose them ; for when this bird has not space to run, it cannot give its 

 body sufficient momentum to rise from the ground. The second method 

 is to mark the trees in which, frequently to the number of five or six, they 

 roost together, and then at night to climb up and noose them ; they are 



