BIRDS OF PREY 



159 



wing. It feeds, however, like other vul- 

 tures, chiefly on carrion, and its mode of 

 life and bodily structure are in accordance 

 with this habit. 



By means of its enormous wings, 

 measuring over 9 feet from tip to tip, the 

 condor can traverse large distances in the 

 shortest possible time, and ascend to alti- 

 tudes (24,000 feet or more) hi which it 

 ceases to be visible even as a mere speck 

 to human sight. In this way it is enabled 

 to find sufficient food for itself and its 

 young, the supply of such food being much 

 less abundant than that of the falcons. 

 Several eyes being able to see more than 

 two, condors usually investigate a district 

 for carrion in companies. Each bird sur- 

 veys a wide range, but keeps sufficiently 

 near its mates to be able to follow their 

 movements. Having once sighted the 

 prey with its marvellously keen eye, which 



Condor. (The birds in the foreground about one-twentieth natural size). 



