AMERICAN VULTURES. 375 



author lias remarked, " we presume this prohibition was religionsly 

 observed, so far, at least, as it related to the Vultures, from whose flesh 

 there arises such an unsavory odor, that we question if all the sweeten- 

 ing processes ever invented could render it palatable to Jew, Pag^in, or 

 Christian." Certain it is, that independent of the passing contents of 

 the alimentary canal, permanent fcetid, musky odors, exhale from the 

 bones and muscles ; and the same stench is entangled in the web of 

 feathers. It is retained for a long while even after the bird is killed and 

 stuffed. So strong is it, that one author, an excellent naturalist, too, 

 fancied it must be rather unpleasant to the birds themselves ! Thus 

 Pennant, speaking of the Vulture's habit of basking in the sun, with 

 half-opened, drooping wings, supposed that this was done " to purify 

 their bodies, which are most unpleasantly fcetid," as he naively remarks. 

 It is somewhat to be wondered that, when Audubon's experiments 

 came up, no person of an ingenious and inquiring turn advanced a 

 theory why Vultures were deprived of the sense of smell ; reasoning 

 that if their olfactories were acute they could not bring themselves to 

 eat carrion, and that moreover they would be continually unhappy in 

 the noxious atmosphere emanating from their own bodies; in short, 

 that a merciful Creator had so arranged that they might not smell 

 themselves ! 



This would be about one with some of the stories that used to pass 

 current, and not rarely found their way into books when ornithology 

 was younger. Buffon is responsible for much absurdity of this sort. 

 With a vivid imagination he (Jould make, when he could not find, a way 

 to v>Tite bird-histories ; and his stories were never spoiled in the telling 

 for want of ready language. He had, moreo^•er, a supply of precon- 

 ceived ideas regarding the habits of birds that stood him in good stead 

 of observation, and made him a facile expounder of the way birds ought 

 to live, if less successful in telling how they do live. Among other no- 

 tions of his, a favorite one seems to have been, that American birds 

 were apt to be found degenerate mongrels of better-breed European 

 stock. But he has been for this and similar things already so often 

 taken to task, that we may, without comment, give his picture of Vul- 

 tures, and allow others to decide upon its faithfulness. "In every part 

 of the globe," says Buffon, "they are voracious, slothful, offensive, and 

 hateful ; and, like the wolves, are as noxious during their life as they 

 are useless after death." 



One excellent service that the Turkey Vultures render in warm coun- 

 tries, is the destruction of alligators' eggs. This was referred to over a 

 century ago (in 1752) by Don [jlloa, whose remarks, as rendered by Mr. 

 Ord, may be here transcribed : 



"The Gallinazos are enemies of the alligators, and employ much strat- 

 agem to obtain them. During the summer the birds make it their busi- 

 ness to watch the female alligators, for it is at that season that they 

 deposit their eggs in the sand of the shores of the rivers which are not 

 then overflowed. The Gallinazo conceals itself among the branches and 

 leaves of a tree, so as to be unperceived by the alligator, and permits 

 the eggs quietly to be laid, not even interrupting the pains she takes to 

 conceal them. But she is no sooner under the water than the Gallinazo 

 darts upon the nest, and with its bill, claws and wings, uncovers the 

 eggs and gobbles them down, leaving nothing but the shells. This ban- 

 quet would indeed richly reward its patience, did not a multitude of 

 Gallinazos join the discoverer and share in the spoil." 



This author has been criticised for his assertion that the Black Vul- 

 tures attack live animals ; his account has been called " too improbable 



