14 



THE EDINBURGH JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY, 



cerus, and in form, as well as in other respects, bears remote resemblance 

 to the Aigncerus Equina (Roan Antelope, or Bastard Gemsbok), with 

 which it has been confounded by many persons imperfectly acquainted 

 with the subject, to whom it has been exhibited. A comparison of the 

 two animals will, however, render the existing difference between them 

 too obvious to demand any observation from me. 



" During nearly three months that I hunted over the country lying be- 

 tween the 24th and 26th parallels of S. latitude, within 28° and 30° E . longi- 

 tude, I only once met with the Antelope in question. On the northern 

 side of the Cashan range of mountains, about a degree and a half south 

 of the tropic of Capricorn, I found a herd, consisting of nine does and 

 two bucks, and followed them till I captured the specimen already referred 

 to. None of the natives of the country were familiar with the appearance 

 of the animal when first interrogated on the subject, although after confer- 

 ring among themselves, they agreed that it was Kookame ( Oryx- Capensis) 

 the Gemsbok ;. and, of the many individuals to whom it has been shown, 

 a trader named Robert Scoon, is the only one by whom it has been 

 recognized. He declares that he saw a herd of them some years ago 

 near the very spot 1 have described, but could not succeed in killing one. 

 It is, doubtless, very rare; and, judging from the formation of the foot, 

 entirely confined to the mountains. The females are somewhat smaller 

 than the males, are provided with shorter and slighter, but similarly 

 shaped horns, and are similarly marked ; a deep chestnut-brown, verging 

 upon black, taking the place of the glossy black coat of the male. I did 

 not obtain a female specimen ; but while riding down the buck, I had 

 abundant opportunities of narrowly observing them within the distance 

 of a few yards, and am therefore positive as to the correctness of the 

 description here given. The adult male stands four feet six inches high 

 at the shoulder, and is nearly nine feet in extreme length ; the horns are 

 twenty-seven inches over the curve. The carcase is robust ; withers 

 elevated; neck broad and flat; hoofs black; hair close and smooth; 

 general colour glossy. black, with an occasional cast of deep chestnut; a 

 copious standing black mane ; belly, buttocks, and inside of thighs, pure 

 white ; tail black." 



A NEW OTTER FROM nEMERARA. 



In a late number of the Magazine of Natural History (New Series, vol. i. 

 p. .589), Mr Gray, of the British Museum, gave a description of what he 

 considered a new genus of Otter from Demerara, which is intermediate 

 between the Lutra and Enhydra, differing in both from the size of the 

 tail, which is expanded into a slight fin, and in the large size of the feet. 

 In a late communication, Professor Wiegman (Archiv. Part IV. 1838), 

 has expressed a doubt if the genus is distinct from En hydra, which has 

 induced Mr Gray to copy a sketch of the animal, which Mr Gould took 



from the original specimen at the meeting of the British Association at 

 Liverpool. This, Mr Gray thinks, will at once dispel Professor Wieg- 

 man 's doubts, because the tail is much longer and more slender, the fore 



"eet are much larger, and the hind ones smaller, than the Sea- Otter 



(Annats of Nat. Hist. Vol. ii. p. 286). 



Mycetes Seniculds. — Royal Howi.er — K Red Monkey of Demerara.) 

 Nothing can sound more dreadful than the nocturnal howlings of the great 

 Red Monkey of Demerara. While lying in your hammock, in these 

 gloomy and immeasurable wilds, you hear him howling at intervals, from 

 eleven o'clock at night till daybreak. You would suppose that half the 

 wild beasts of the forest were collecting for the work of carnage. Now, 

 it is the tremendous roar of the Jaguar as he springs on his prey. Now, 

 it changes to his terrible and deep-toned growlings, as he is pressed on all 

 sides by superior force ; and now you hear his last dying moan beneath 

 a mortal wound. • * • • His flesh is good food ; but when skinned, 

 his appearance is so like that of a young one of our own species, that a 

 delicate stomach might possibly revolt at the idea of putting a knife and 

 fork into it. However, I can affirm, from experience, that after a long 



and dreary march through these remote forests, the flesh of this Monkey 

 is not to be sneezed at, when boiled in Cayenne pepper, or roasted on a 

 stick over a good fire. A young one tastes not unlike a Kid, and the old 

 ones have somewhat the flavour of the He- Goat Watertons Wanderings. 



the habits of the king of the VULTURES {Sarcorrhamphus Papa.) 



An interesting communication on the King of the Vultures having lately 

 been received from Mr Schomburgh, the scientific and adventurous natu- 

 ralist, now travelling in Guiana, we shall here give a condensed view of 

 his principal statements. Mr Schomburgh remarks, that this is undoubt- 

 edly the most beautiful of the Vulture family. It inhabits South America, 

 and abounds in Guiana. In size, it equals that of a full-grown Turkey- 

 Cock. Its bill is two inches in length, and its depth amounts to almost 

 the same measure. The upper mandible is covered by the cere, is 

 straight near its origin, and hooked near its point; the lower mandible is 

 straight, rounded, and scarcely inflated. The nostrils, within the cere, 

 are lateral, and situate close to the ridge of the upper mandible. The 

 cere is of a bright orange colour, and continues towards the cheeks, where 

 it assumes a bluish hue. The beak is first black, and then red to the 

 point. The ridge of the upper mandible is surmounted by a fleshy ca- 

 runcle of a red colour, which the bird can elevate at will. From the base 

 of the lower mandible arises a naked skin, of an orange colour, stretching 

 downwards and backwards, and covered with black hairs; as the crown 

 is almost bare, the head might be compared to the tonsure of a monk. 

 The eyes are surrounded with a red skin. Below the nape, the neck is 

 encircled by a ruff of long soft feathers of a deep ash colour, which partly 

 covers the breast. The interscapular regions, the scapular, and coverts, 

 are cream-coloured with a roseate hue ; the other wing feathers, the rump, 

 and the tail, are deep black; the breast, belly, and thighs, white. The 

 wings reach nearly to the end of the tail; the second and third quills are 

 the longest ; the tail is round at its extremity. The legs are robust ; there 

 are three toes befoie, and one behind ; the bent talons are an inch Ion". 

 The female is somewhat larger than the male, and of a uniform black, with 

 the exception of the feathers under the wing, which are white. 



In appearance, the King of the Vultures is one of the most magnifi- 

 cent birds among the feathered tribe; however, its character corresponds 

 little with its showy nature, for it is voracious, unclean, and indolent. 

 Its sense of smell is uncommonly acute, but it is only used to scent 

 carrion ; and while the Eagle devours nothing but what his talons and 

 beak have deprived of life, and does not stoop to feed upon carcases, the 

 odour of putrefaction possesses every allurement for the Vulture; and it 

 gorges itself to such a degree, that after a full meal it cannot rise upon its 

 wings for a considerable time. The bird has then a most disagreeable 

 smell, which becomes almost insupportable if it be skinned ; at other 

 periods, and when it has been pressed hard for food, it does notemitthat 

 unpleasant odour. The females appear to be more numerous than the 

 males ; but their number has been much exaggerated, they having been 

 frequently confounded with the Common Carrion Crow {Cathartes aura), 

 with which they feed ; indeed, the latter may be considered as their 

 scouts ; and the common report is well-founded, that the Carrion Crow 

 does not touch the carcases until their majesties and spouses, of which 

 there are frequently several present at the entertainment, have satisfied 

 themselves to repletion : during that' time they are silent and covetous 

 spectators, and keep a proper distance, but scarcely have the others done- 

 when they fall to with voracious appetite. 



Their skill in preparing skeletons is astonishing; they not only scrape 

 off the flesh with the greatest nicety, but likewise the ligaments and peri- 

 osteum, without subjecting them previously to maceration ; indeed, they 

 are perfect masters in their art, and vie with the best anatomical instructor. 

 When we ascended the river Berbice, a Cayman or Alligator was shot 

 and dragged on shore, to leave the Vultures and Carrion Crows the trouble 

 of cleaning the bones. On our return a month after, they had performed 

 the operation to our entire satisfaction, and we concluded, from the white- 

 ness and dryness of the bones, that a fortnight might have elapsed since 

 they finished. At a later period I ascertained the fact that the Carrion 

 Crows do not touch the carcase until the Vultures have satisfied themselves. 

 I was at a Mr Sander's on the upper river Berbice ; on the opposite shore 

 the carcase of a cow which had died the previous day had attracted a 

 numerous assembly of Carrion Crows ; the}' were perched on the dry 

 branches of some trees that commanded a view of the carcase; there they 

 sat silent and mournful, their attitude not upright but stooping, their 

 wings partly hanging down. There they remained the whole morning; 

 none touched the carcase, nor did they change their position. In the after- 

 noon our attention was attracted by the cry of the Negroes " They come, 

 they come t" We went out, and looking towards the opposite shore, we 

 observed four male Vultures and several females flying in circles over the 

 space where the Cow was lying ; the circles became narrower and nar- 

 rower, and at last they lighted upon some trees in the neighbourhood ; this 

 circumstance was hailed by the sable crew, they extended their wings, and 



