HUNTING BIRDS WITH A CAiMHRA 



109 



when the wings are 

 spread, and weighs 

 from 20 to 25 pounds. 

 The Cahfornia Con- 

 dor will average the 

 same. 



The South Ameri- 

 can Condor is glossy 

 black, with a broad 

 white bar across each 

 wing, and has a ruff 

 of white down about 

 the neck. The head 

 is unfeathered and is 

 covered with wrinkled 

 red skin. The fore- 

 head has a cartilagi- 

 nous comb or caruncle, 

 and the throat is wat- 

 tled like that of a com- 

 mon Turkey. 



The California Con- 

 dor is blackish in color, 

 with the feathers of 

 the back edged with 

 brown. There is no 

 caruncle on the head, 

 but about the neck are 

 loose black lancelinear 

 feathers. The lining 

 of the wings is white, 

 and when the bird is 

 soaring this mark dis- 

 tinguishes it from the 

 Turkey Buzzard. 



The size and 

 strength of the Con- 

 dor have often been 

 exaggerated. There 

 have been many ab- 

 surd stories about 

 these birds killing sheep and other ani- 

 mals. Dr. Alexander Taylor, who gave 

 the best early account of the Condor, said 

 that it had been known to kill and carry 

 off a hare in its claws. 



The habit of the Vulture is ):o wait till 

 after death, and it is extremely doubtful 

 that one of these birds would ever attack 

 a living animal. 



THE BIGGEST BIRD THAT EEIES WAS "aS 

 GENTEE AS A kitten" 



As to the Condor's carrying its prey, 

 this is easily discredited by a study of its 

 foot. The claws are blunt and weak, and 



A DOWNY YOUNG TURKEY VULTURE 



He has the reputation of being a lost soul in the bird world. He 

 is a bird of prey, but, with a foot like a Chicken, he cannot clutch and 

 hunt like a Hawk or Eagle. He does not hunt living things ; he plays 

 a waiting game. 



the foot is not adapted for grasping or 

 carrying like that of an ordinary bird of 

 prey. 



In our study of the Condors at home, 

 the most surprising thing to us was that 

 this biggest of all birds, which has often 

 been reported as wary and ferocious, was 

 as gentle as a kitten. From such informa- 

 tion as I had gathered about the Cali- 

 fornia Condor, I should never have be- 

 lieved that we could get so close to this 

 pair of big birds in the wild state. After 

 our many visits, they had evidently got 

 acquainted with us and knew that we 

 would not harm them. 



