BIRD LEGEND AND LIFE 



shy, and the black the least so, of the family, the latter paying 

 little more attention to man than common domestic fowls do. 



The black vultures of the South betray their dislike of 

 cold in their habits of gathering on cool days around chim- 

 neys for warmth, and in lying about on the sunny sides of 

 roofs and spreading their wings to receive every ray of sun- 

 shine available; and when thunderstorms arise they betake 

 themselves to regions beyond the clouds, where they com- 

 fortably ride the air above the storm. 



Mr. Beebe tells of seeing in Mexico flocks of thousands 

 of these birds rising in a revolving, cone-shaped mass till, 

 on reaching a great height, where they seemed no larger than 

 flies, they disbanded and disappeared among the clouds. 



The turkey vulture, the most graceful in flight, possesses 

 a remarkable stretch of wing as well as wonderful buoyancy. 

 One writer tells of watching the aerial maneuvres of one of 

 this species, and on timing it he discovered that in twenty 

 minutes but a single stroke of the wings was given. 



Though when on the ground the habits of these efficient 

 members of the public service preclude admiration, though 

 there they have little picturesque value and are tolerated 

 only on account of their economic worth — ^when their broad 

 wings bear them aloft into the heavens, their flight expresses 

 the utmost grace. On seeing them swinging upward in 

 diminishing spirals, and majestically sweeping the sky on 

 almost motionless wings, all their former awkwardness, aU 

 their imperfections, are forgotten. 



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