182 ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS, 



of a bright red, and the hitter assume a leaden hue. 

 At all times the beak, which attains a length of four 

 inches, is of an ashy gray with a flesh-coloured tinge ; 

 and the bristles at its base are deep black, as are also 

 the talons. 



In its habits this bird combines the audacity and 

 cruelty of the Eagles with the appetite for carrion that 

 distinguishes the Vultures. It seizes by preference on 

 living victims, chiefly quadrupeds, and especially those 

 which are incapable of making an effectual resistance, 

 such as rabbits, hares, sheep, and lambs, or even young 

 goats and calves ; and thus proves an extremely danger- 

 ous neighbour to the peaceful flocks which graze on the 

 declivities of the mountains inhabited by it, or in the 

 intervening valleys. Sometimes, when rendered despe- 

 rate by a long fast, it is said to attack the chamois or 

 even man himself, choosing for the scene of its exploits 

 the brink of a precipice, and descending upon its victim 

 with such an irresistible impetus as to precipitate him 

 headlong into the abyss below. But such bold attempts 

 as this, although spoken of by many writers, are foi-eign 

 to its usual habits, and may rather be regarded as tra- 

 ditions handed down from generation to generation, 

 than as common or every-day occurrences. In the 

 same manner it is probable that the stories current in 

 the Alps, of children carried off by Vultures to be 

 devoured, are rather the expression of a natural dread 

 of what might happen, than relations of actual events. 

 We are not aware of any authentic testimony in proof 

 of the fact, which may therefore be classed with the 

 transatlantic narratives of the same description with 

 reference to the Condor, There is, however, this dif- 

 ference, that in the one case the structure of the talons 

 renders possible that which in the other is an absolute 

 and physical impossibility. 



