ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



459 



SOUTH AMERICAN CONDOR. 

 Head of male bird. 



that I hardly remembered it. When at last I 

 arose from my completed work and stretched 

 my cramped limbs, every dead tree and boulder 

 within a wide area held its complement of vul- 

 tures — black and turkey. It was most un- 

 canny. Their skinny necks were stretched out 

 toward me ; many score of red and ebony heads 

 peered through leaves and over rocks and dead 

 limbs, forming a ring of watchful, silent specta- 

 tors. Overhead the sky was quartered in every 

 direction by dozens of others. Within a few 

 minutes all these birds had come, each guided by 

 the suggestive descent of some brother vulture, 

 who in turn had well interpreted his neighbor's 

 actions. All were waiting patiently for the ex- 

 pected feast. And what a feast ! It was the 

 "loaves and fishes" over again without any 

 chance for a miracle. Nearly two hundred 

 birds as large as small turkeys were eagerly 

 waiting for the moment when I should leave to 

 them the remains of one small armadillo ! 



The collection of New World vultures in the 

 New York Zoological Park is at present com- 

 plete — that is to say, all five genera of this 

 group are represented by living specimens. 

 The vultures of the Old World are very hawk- 

 like, so much so that they are placed in the 

 same order with those birds of prey. But the 

 vultures of our own hemisphere are sufficiently 

 distinct from all other groups to deserve an or- 

 der of their own, CATHARTIDIFORMES. 

 Perhaps the most marked difference is the ab- 

 sence of a voice in the vultures of the Americas, 

 due to the absence of a syrinx — the avian vocal 

 organ. The Old World birds can scream and 

 voice their emotions in sound, but our vultures 



must live ever silent, or utter only the hiss of 

 escaping breath. The single family Cathartidae 

 includes the following genera : 



I. South American Condor (Sarcorhamphus 

 gryphus). 



II. King Vulture (Gypagus papa). 



III. Black Vulture (Catharistes urubu). 



IV. Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura). 



V. California Condor (Pseudogryphus cali- 

 fornianus). 



The completeness of our collection, together 

 witli the interest which these little appreciated 

 birds present, has led to the making of a 

 resume of their habits as far as these are known. 



THE SOUTH AMERICAN CONDOR. 



A pair of these splendid birds was received 

 at the Zoological Park November 30th, 1899. 

 The female died shortly afterward, but the 

 male is still in perfect health, after nine 

 years of life in New York City. This species 

 has been known to live thirty-three years in 

 captivity. Our bird has been a constant source 

 of attraction to visitors and, peacock-like, en- 

 joys showing himself off to admiring throngs. 

 He has lived outdoors summer and winter, ap- 

 parently as comfortable in the coldest blizzard 

 as in the hottest summer weather. His chief 

 trait, characteristic indeed of all the larger 

 species of vultures, is a curious spirit of play, 

 exhibited in antics about his keeper or mani- 

 fested toward other birds in the big flying cage. 

 Formerly his summers were spent in this huge 

 enclosure, where he never made any attempt to 

 injure other birds or even to feed upon the body 

 of any one accidentally killed. At last, how- 

 ever, his play became too rough. He would 

 seize a flamingo by one wing and dance around 

 and around, pulling the terrified bird about, and 

 sometimes throwing; it down. For the last few 



KING VULTURE. 

 Head of the male bird. 



