POLYBOKID^. 17 



true Vultures, tliey have fifteen cervical vertebras. Tlie King Vul- 

 ture is perhaps the handsomest bird of his family, and well deserves 

 the name ; whilst the Condor is the giant of all, but said not to be 

 so wide across the wings as the Bearded Vulture : it lives on the 

 higher regions of the Andes. 



The Turkey Buzzards, or Turkey Vultures, form the genus Ca- 

 thartes, and grade from the last by means of the Californian Vul- 

 ture. Two species are known from North America, and two from 

 South America. They are blackish birds, with naked heads, the 

 bill rather slender and lengthened, but wider than that of JVeophron, 

 and the apical portion strong and arched. The toes are scutellated 

 above, and the hind toe very short. The sternum has a foramen, 

 open in some, closed in others, and a notch as well, nearer the keel; 

 and they have fourteen cervical vertebraj. In their habits they are 

 quite familiar, and live chiefly on carrion and garbage, but are said 

 also to eat reptiles and eggs. 



The family Polyboeid^, or Kite Vultures, are peculiar to Ame- 

 rica, and chiefly to South America. Bonaparte, however, includes 

 among them a Madagascar bird, Polyborides radiafiis, Vultur apud 

 Scopoli, ( F. Gymnogenys, Temminck, PL col. 307,) Smith, S. Afr. 

 Zool., t. 81 and 82. They have the bill rather elongated, the basal 

 portion straight, the tip very slightly hooked, and the margin 

 barely festooned. The wings are long, 3rd, 4th, and 5th quills 

 longest ; the tarsi are long, slender, and covered with large scales 

 in front. The surface of the crop (and sometimes part of the 

 head and throat) are naked, or clad only with down, giving the bird 

 a very vulturine character ; and after feeding, the crop protrudes 

 like that of a vulture. They possess the carrion-feeding habits of 

 the vultures, frequenting the neighbourhood of slaughter-houses, 

 and feeding not only on dead bodies, but also on worms, insects, 

 frogs, &c. ; and some of them are said at times to feed on berries 

 and insects. They are inactive in their habits, with slow heavy 

 flight, but they run well on the ground. They are said to show 

 affinities to the Gallinacece in their voice, their disposition to rub 

 themselves in sand, and in ' their eagerness for fighting ; and their 

 slightly-hooked bill, the structure of the tarsi, and their general 



c 



