THE EAGLE, KING OF BIRDS, AND HIS KIN 



55 



Photograph by Dr. A. A. Allen 

 A PAIR OF DUCK HAWKS HAVE CHOSEN FOR THEIR NESTING PEACE A HIGH AND 

 SECLUDED LEDGE NEAR TAUGHANNOCK FALLS, NEW YORK STATE 



The eggs were laid on the shelf of rock in the lower left foreground, where the young 

 birds may be seen. One of their parents keeps a watchful eye out to see that no danger 

 threatens them. The falls are 215 feet high, which is higher than Niagara Falls. 



In warm weather, proponents of the 

 scent theory have concealed bodies of ani- 

 mals SO that they could not be seen, and 

 claim that in a short time, as the car- 

 casses became odoriferous, turkey vultures 

 gathered. Even though the carrion was 

 so concealed in buildings or under other 

 cover that the birds could not get at it, they 

 remained on hand, attracted by the odors, 

 in the attempt to locate this potential food 

 supply. Experiments dealing with this 

 matter began in the days of Audubon and 

 have been continued by other naturalists 

 until the present day. 



There is not the slightest question but 

 that the turkey vulture will find food that 

 is concealed in such a way as to be en- 



tirely invisible to a bird overhead, even 

 though such a bird may be only a few 

 feet distant. However, in most alleged 

 instances of location by scent, keen sight 

 has probably played some part. 



That the turkey vulture is an observant 

 creature, with keen perception where food 

 is concerned, is obvious if one watches it 

 a little, though there may be doubt as 

 to the extent of its intelligence in other 

 respects. These birds regularly patrol 

 beaches to obtain dead fish, and recently 

 have learned to watch the modern hard- 

 surfaced roads, where speeding automo- 

 biles are constantly killing small birds, 

 snakes, rabbits, cats, and other animals. 



Also, they seem to know that the 



