HISTORY OF 



.. birds to' Which, we should be partial from their appearance, yet, 

 "X': wfierf jv,e. epqire : into their habits, we cannot help admiring the 

 wisdom of that all-wise Providence, who has supplied scavengers, 

 to clear away from the surface of the earth the putrefying bodies 

 that would otherwise infect the air we breathe, and spread 

 pestilence in their neighbourhood. 



A very acute sense of smelling has been attributed to birds 

 of the Vulture tribe, supposed to be the means by which they 

 discover their food, the most putrid carcases, at immense dis- 

 tances. But the experiments and observations of the American 

 ornithologist, Audubon, distinctly prove, that it is the organs 

 of sight, and not those of smelling, which enable them to detect 

 their food at the distances they are said to do. The following 

 are some extracts from his work, "The Birds of America," on the 

 subject: "It has always appeared to us unaccountable, that 

 birds of prey, as Vultures, could scent carcases at such immense 

 distances as they are said to do. We were led to call in question 

 the accuracy of this opinion, on recollecting the observations of 

 some travellers, who have remarked birds of prey directing their 

 course towards dead animals floating in the rivers in India, 

 where the wind blows steadily from one point in the compass 

 for many months in succession. It is not easy to conceive, 

 that the effluvia from a putrid carcase, in the water, should 

 proceed in direct opposition to the current of air, and affect the 

 olfactory nerves of birds at so many miles distant." 



The following is an account of Audubon's experiments: 

 Having stuffed and dried the skin of a deer, he retired from 

 it : a Vulture soon approached, attacked its eyes, which were 

 made of painted clay, then walked to the other extremity, tore 

 some of the stitches until much of the fodder and hay with 

 which it was stuffed was pulled out, and after reiterated at- 

 tempts to discover flesh, took flight. Afterwards, he had a 



