184 CLASS AVES. 



the guanaco. They will even attack a heifer. They pursue it 

 for a long time, wounding it with their beak and talons, until 

 the animal, breathless and overwhelmed with fatigue, thrusts 

 out its tongue, bellowing. The condor then seizes the tongue, 

 a morsel to which it is much attached. It also tears out the 

 eyes of its victim, which sinks to the earth and slowly expires. 

 In the province of Quito, the mischief done to cattle, but more 

 especially to sheep and cows by this formidable bird, is im- 

 mense. In the savannahs of Antisana, 2101 toises above the 

 level of the sea, bulls are constantly found which have been 

 wounded in the back by condors. 



The condor, when satiated with food, remains perched, 

 phlegmatically, on the summit of the rocks. In this situation 

 the bird has an air of sombre and sinister gravity, and will not 

 give himself the trouble to escape the chase. But when sti- 

 mulated by hunger, the condor will fly to a prodigious height. 

 He hovers in the air for the purpose of taking in at a glance 

 the vast extent of country which is to furnish him with his 

 prey. On those days in which the sky is peculiarly serene, 

 the condor is usually to be seen at its most extraordinary de- 

 gree of elevation. It appears attracted on such occasions by 

 the transparency of the atmosphere to review a large extent of 

 territory, which in duskier weather would be concealed even 

 from its piercing view. 



In Peru, Quito, and the province of Popayan, they are in 

 the habit of taking the condor alive with nooses. The inha- 

 bitants are fond of this sport, and particularly delight in enter- 

 taining their European guests with it. The mode is thus : — 

 A cow or horse is killed ; in a short time the odour of the dead 

 animal attracts the condors, whose scent is remarkably fine. 

 They soon appear in great numbers in places where nobody 

 had previously any suspicion of their existence. They devour 

 with incredible voracity. They always begin with the eyes and 

 tongue, their favourite morsels. Then they attack the carcass 

 through the anus, that they may arrive more quickly to the 



