Song Birds and Water Fowl 



devil his due, so the buzzards can be heartily 

 commended in one aspect of their life ; for 

 there is something immensely impressive in the 

 sight of a large flock of these huge black creat- 

 ures, with a spread of six feet as they fly, slowly 

 gliding on motionless wing, high in the air, in 

 magnificent circles, and at the same time the 

 whole flock advancing. Tipping the body now 

 this way and now that, they are borne aloft 

 and along like enormous kites, and will cover 

 immense distances — one writer says, two or 

 three miles — without a single wing-beat. The 

 eagles' flight is grander; but one sees the 

 eagle only alone or in pairs ; and, in this re- 

 spect, the view of a cloud of buzzards is more 

 imposing. They seemed to be gathering at 

 their accustomed rendezvous on a neighboring 

 shore, where I counted sixty, with many more 

 in the air, and slowly settling. 



There is something phenomenal in their pow- 

 er of smell, as they are able to detect carrion 

 several miles away. We not infrequently hear 

 people lament that their own senses are not as 

 keen as those of the lower animals. But we 

 know not what is good for us. Coleridge's per- 

 ception of over seventy distinct odors in Col- 

 ogne, besides the one that has made the town 

 194 



