666 The Andes and the Amazons. 



feathers in their wings. I have also seen old Condors with 

 caruncles on the head (which are said to come from age 

 alone), and black beaks, and the body brown or ash-color- 

 ed all over." Bonaparte, in his American Ornithology^ 

 gives a careful drawing of a young male, with a crest, and 

 with white patches on its wings, both features wanting in 

 the Brown. Lieutenant Gilliss declares, as the result of 

 his observations on the Chilean Andes, that the brown kind 

 is a different species. Further proof is wanted ; but it is_ 

 quite probable that another species must be added to the 

 genus Sarcoram^Kus. 



The ordinary habitat of the Eoyal Condor is between 

 the altitudes of 10,000 and 16,000 feet. The largest seem 

 to make their home around the volcano of Cayambi, which 

 stands exactly on the equator. In the rainy season they 

 frequently descend to the coast, where they may be seen 

 roosting on trees ; on the mountains they very rarely perch 

 (for which their feet are poorly fitted), but stand on rocks. 

 They are most commonly seen around vertical clifPs, where 

 their nests are, and where cattle are most likely to fall. 

 Great numbers frequent Antisana, where there is a great 

 cattle estate. Flocks are never seen except around a large 

 carcass. It is often seen singly, soaring at a great height 

 in vast circles. Its flight is slow and majestic. Its head 

 is constantly in motion as if in search of food below; its 

 mouth is kept open, and its tail spread. To rise from the 

 ground, it must needs run for some distance, then it flaps 

 its wings three or four times, and ascends at a low angle 

 till it reaches a considerable elevation, when it seems to 

 make a few leisurely strokes, as if to ease its wings, after 

 which it literally sails upon the air. In walking, the wings 

 trail on the ground, and the head takes a crouching posi- 

 tion. It has a very awkward, almost painful gait. From 

 its inability to rise without ruiniing, a narrow pen is sufii- 



