THE CONDUR MINOR, OR ASH-COLOURED VULTURE. 85 



THE CONDUR MINOR, OR ASH-COLOURED VULTURE. 



IN THE MENAGERY OF MR. CROSS, KING'S MEWS, CHARING CROSS. 



In its generic characters this bird differs very little from the griffon vulture described page 25 of this 

 work. It however differs from it in colour, it being of a uniform grey without any intermixture of 

 black, by which some other species of the vulture tribe are distinguished. In size it approaches very 

 near to the Lammergeyer of the Alps, though inferior to that of the condur of the Andes. Its length 

 is about four feet and a half, and its height rather more than two feet. The head is small, and like 

 that of the griffon-vulture, and indeed of the majority of the vulture tribe, is denuded of feathers, 

 presenting a whitish downy appearance, the object of which provision appears to be, to enable it to 

 bury as it were its head in the carrion on which it feeds, without exposing its plumage to be soiled by 

 the filth which it might otherwise contract. The eyes are large and black ; the beak is black and 

 hooked, having its base covered with a yellow cere ; and the talons are large and extended. 



This bird like all the vulture tribe is disgusting in its habits of feeding on offal and dead animals, 

 and gorging itself with putrid carrion and other tainted flesh. The sloth, the filth, and the voracity 

 of these birds almost exceed credibility. Whenever they alight on a carcass, that they can have 

 liberty to tear at their ease, they gorge themselves in such a manner, that they become unable to fly, 

 and, even if pursued, can only hop along. At all times they are birds of slow flight, and are unable 

 readily to raise themselves from the ground, and when over-gorged, they are utterly helpless. On 

 the pressure of danger, however, they have the power of ridding themselves of their burden, by 

 vomiting up what they have eaten, and then they fly off with greater facility. 



The peculiarities of habit by which the vultures are distinguished not only from the eagles, but 

 even from the smallest of the falcon tribe, are the immediate consequence of their organization. Their 

 beak, in their curvature, may be said to bear a strong resemblance to that of the eagles, and in other 

 respects they possess many of the technical characters of the rapacious orders. But in one particular the 

 vulture and the eagle differ essentially : the former satiates itself with its prey on the spot where it is 

 found ; whereas the latter is enabled, by the superior length and strength of its talons, to transport its 

 prey through the air, and to consume it without fear of molestation in its mountain eyry. In the 

 eagle it is the acuteness of its vision that enables it to discern the objects of its rapacity when hovering 

 at an uncommon height above it ; whereas in the vulture it is the acute sensibility of its nostril which 

 directs it to its prey. One of the external characters which distinguish the eagle from the vulture, is 

 the want of plumage on the head and neck, which in the majority of the latter species are covered 

 with a kind of short down or smooth hairs ; the eagle having those parts completely covered with 

 feathers. The attitude of the vulture also presents a striking contrast with that of the eagle : the 

 former is always seen bending forwards in a crouching position ; whereas the latter always maintains 

 a bold and upright posture. 



The vultures are exceedingly numerous in the vicinity of the Pyramids, and numerous flocks of 

 them are also found in Cairo. Every morning and evening they assemble with the kites in the square 

 below the castle, in order to receive the alms of fresh meat that have been left to them by the legacies 

 of various wealthy men. By the ancient Egyptians, these birds were esteemed sacred ; and Herodotus 

 informs us, that it was considered a capital crime to put one of them to death. 



Notwithstanding the filthy habits of these birds, the inhabitants of the countries where they abound 



