82 cassell's book of birds. 



active servants are at the door, ready to begin their task of cleansing, as soon as the family will 

 allow them to enter and remove whatever filth may have accumulated. So extremely feeble is the 

 beak of these birds, that they seem to be almost entirely dependent upon man for the means of 

 subsistence; and those who have never visited tropical countries can scarcely imagine how ably 

 and perseveringly they perform the work that has been assigned to them. The movements of 

 the Monk Vultures are active, and their habits very social ; even during the breeding season the 

 parties do not separate, but form settlements upon such groups of suitable trees as are at some 

 distance from the towns and villages. The nests are usually placed upon the higher branches, and 

 do not exceed one foot in diameter ; they are flat in shape, and formed of twigs very nicely woven 

 together ; the interior is so small as to be capable of containing but one nestling. The solitary egg 

 is round, coarse-shelled, and usually of a greyish white, thickly sprinkled with yellow spots. Both 

 parents assist in the work of incubation, the male bird relieving his mate during the mid-day hours. 

 The young grow very slowly, and after leaving the nest, subsist, according to Heuglin, upon such food 

 as they can pick up on the sea-shore or river banks. 



THE URUBU, OR TURKEY BUZZARD. 

 The Urubu (Catharks aura) is the first of the two species of American Vultures that we 

 /lave selected from amongst the many varieties inhabiting the western continent, all of which, 

 though differing somewhat in appearance, bear so close a resemblance to each other in their 

 habits and mode of life that we shall content ourselves with speaking of them collectively. The 

 Urubu or "Turkey Buzzard," as it is called in North America, is distinguished by its short 

 thick beak, graduated tail, and low tarsi. The head and bare parts of the neck are of a flesh 

 colour, deepest at the base of the beak, and become gradually paler towards the nape ; the top of 

 the head is violet. The skin upon the brow and nape hangs in thick folds, and that of the throat 

 is overspread with orange-coloured warts ; a few bristle-like feathers are scattered over the crown 

 of the head and around the ears ; the entire body, wings, and tail are brownish black, and gleam 

 with a metallic lustre. The beak is pale red, and partially covered by the cere, in the upper part 

 of which the large oval nostrils are situated ; the eyes are bright red, and have a blueish grey circle 

 around the pupil. The length of this species is about twenty-two and its breadth sixty-three inches ; 

 the wing measures nineteen inches and the tail ten and a half. 



THE GALLINAZO. 



The Gallinazo {Coragyfs atratus), as the second species is called, possesses a rather longer 

 and thinner beak, comparatively high tarsi, and a shorter tail, which is straight at its extremity. 

 The bare head and fore part of the throat are dark grey, deepening in some parts into black ; 

 the body, wings, and tail are pale black, shaded with reddish brown. The wing-feathers are white 

 at their origin, the eyes dark brown, the beak blackish brown, whitish at the tip. The top of the 

 head, from the base of the upper mandible to the nape, is covered with a regular succession of 

 folds of skin, placed one behind the other. The length of this bird is twenty-three, its breadth fifty- 

 two inches ; the wing measures fifteen, and the tail about seven inches. 



Both the Urubu and Gallinazo are found in large numbers throughout the whole of the 

 American continent, and both appear to avoid the summits of mountain ranges. The Urubu 

 liv - for the most part in the vicinity of the coast ; whilst the Gallinazo, on the contrary, 

 frequents the towns and villages, occasionally, but rarely, appearing in mountainous districts. So 

 highly do the Americans value the services rendered by these Vultures, that in some districts 

 it is considered a punishable offence to kill them. Wilson tells us that " the Turkey Buzzards are 



