THE COLLECTORS' MONTHLY. 



47 



eggs. They either must have been de- 

 stroyed by the birds, or by some animal 

 that feeds on the eggs of small birds. 



If an animal, why werethenests remov- 

 ed? Npt even a single fiber remained to 

 be seen, nor could I find a particle of the 

 nest anywhere around, so careful had 

 they been to remove every clue of a nest 

 ever being placed there. It was the same 

 with the three that had disappeared. 



So the only thing that remains to con- 

 jecture is that the birds seeing me ap- 

 proach their homes, and examine the 

 treasures, which they thought so much 

 of, took this method of protecting their 

 rights; could it be possible for these little 

 fire flies of the woods, for such they seem, 

 as they hop from oue branch to another, 

 flitting their tail in a peculiar manner, 

 could it be possible for them, to move 

 their home and its effects to a more re- 

 tired spot, there to continue, or begin 

 over, the most important work of the 

 season. Let us hear from others, and 

 thus become more familiar. 

 Yours truly, 



G. A. M. 



The Royal Condor. 



Sarcorhamph us g rvpli us. 



The greatest of birds is the Royal Con- 

 dor of South America, an unclean crea- 

 ture, whose home is among the lofty 

 heights of the Audes. There seems to be 

 a probability that at one time the ( Ion- 

 dor, or a bird closely resembling it, in- 

 habited parts of Asia and Africa,. The 

 legends of the great Roc, may have refer- i 

 red to some such creature now extinct. 



The old geographer, Marco Polo, places 

 the condor in Asia,, and says that the 

 bird was so large and strong as to be 

 able to lift an elephant high enough in 

 its claws that the fall would kill it. A 

 traveler, as late as 1830, ventured the 

 assertion that one had been killed of 



which a single quill feai her was sixty Feet 



long. 



Eumbolt was among the flrel bo state 

 the truth aboul I he condor, and it is now 

 known thai the largesl authentic state- 

 ment of a. condor's size gives an expanse 

 of wings of only 14 feet. This however 

 makes the condor thegiant among birds. 



The permanenl habitation o! the con- 

 dor is never found below an altitude of 

 ten-thousand feet. In the rainy season 

 they frequently descend to the co 

 where they may beseen roosting on trees . 

 On the mountains they rarely perch, for 

 which their feet seem poorly fitted, but 

 stand on the vertical cliffs where their 

 nests are, and where cat I le are most like- 

 ly to fall. They always frequent the 

 vicinity of cattle estates, and they are 

 never seen in Mock except around a Large 

 carcass. The condor is often seen soar- 

 ing in large circles and at an immense 

 height with a slow majestic flight. fts 

 head is constantly in motion as if look- 

 ing for food. To rise from the ground it 

 must run for some distance, then it flaps 

 its wings several times and ascends at a 

 low aim'le till it reaches a considerable 

 elevation, after which it literally sails on 

 the air. 



The gait in walking is awkward and 

 painful, the wings trailing on the ground 

 and the head crouching. from its ina- 

 bility to rise without running a narrow 

 Open pen suffices to imprison it. Though 

 a. carrion bird, it breathes the purest air. 

 spending much of its time soaringthree 

 miles high. 



Its power of gormandizing is enormous. 

 A condor has been known to devour a 

 calf at a single meal, and, though it per- 

 fers carrion ii has been known to attack 

 Living animals. The eyes and tongue are 

 the favorite parts and first devoured. 

 There has never been any authenticated 

 cases of condors carrying off children, or 



