140 THE BIRDS OF CALCUTTA. 



ithough not migratory, they are great travellers on 

 occasion — ^the Arabs of North Africa said that during 

 iihe Crimean War the Vultures emigrated ^o Europe 

 ^th an eye to unlimited dead horse. They can bear 

 both heat and cold, and the only hindrance they 

 would be likely to meet, one would think, would be 

 iheavy jungle in which they could not see their food. 

 The New World birds are more enterprising, for the 

 Turkey Buzzard extends from end to end, almost, of 

 *he American Continent and is a well-known bird 

 everywhere. It is true that one of the Old World 

 birds, the huge Cinereous Vulture (Vultur monachus) 

 also spreads from Spain to China, but it is not a 

 common species anywhere, so that there must be 

 some check on its increase that does not exist in 

 the case of the much weaker and smaller Turkey 

 Buzzard, which is a very insignificant bird compared 

 to it. But nothing demonstrates better than the 

 study of the lives of birds that the battle is not 

 .always to the strong. The Turkey Buzzard in 

 Jamaica has itself been recently experiencing a 

 serious and quite unexpected check by reason of the 

 introduction of one of our best known Indian animals, 

 the mongoose. This beast plays havoc with the 

 ■eggs of the poor Vulture, which has not, so far, 

 •developed sufficient sense to move his domestic 

 belongings to a safer situation than the bare ground 



