66 
YERTEBRATA. 
naked skin of a livid yellowish color ; the whole plnmage is pnre white, except the great quill- 
feathers, which are black; feathers of the occiput long and loose; cere orange, iris yellow, man- 
dibles blackish ; feet livid yellow, claws black, tail very much graduated ; length two feet and a 
few inches. Its plumage varies much, according to age. It does not congregate, except when an 
all-attractive carcass calls them together, but goes in pairs, the male and female seldom parting 
company In the districts which the species inhabits, every group of the natives has a pair of 
these vultures attached to it. The birds roost on the trees in the vicinity, or on the fences which 
bound the inclosures formed for the cattle. They are to a certain degree domiciled and are harm- 
less The people do them no injury ; on the contrary, they are glad to see and encourage them, 
because they clean the premises of all the ofFal and filth they can find. In default of other food 
they eat frogs, lizards, and snakes. They are most common in Africa, but are also often seen in 
Southern Europe and in Asia. 
The Monk Neophron, JV. monachus, is a species of Western Africa. 
Genus SARCORAMPIIUS : sarcoramphus. — Of this there is a single species, the King Vul- 
ture, or King of the Vultures — the irihuhicha of Azara, and the Cozcaquauhili or Queen of 
the Vultures, of the Mexicans — >S'. j>a^5a. The naked skin of the head and neck is brilliantly 
colored ; beak reddish, with a shade of black ; cere bright orange — prolonged between the nos- 
trils into a comb about an inch and a half long — loose in texture, and falling on either side of the 
bill when the head is erect ; back of the head covered with short down inclining to black. On 
each side behind the eye several broad and deep wrinkles of the skin, whence rises a thick and 
prominent fold extending obliquely downward along the neck, reddish-brown mixed with blue, 
and marked with many lines of small black hairs. From the bright-red upper part of the neck 
the color gradually lessens in intensity, fading into orange and yellow toward the lower part. 
Round the bottom of the neck is a broad ruff of soft, downy, deep ashy-gray feathers. It is 
found in all the tropical parts of America, and is frequently met with as far north as Florida. It 
frequents the plains and wooded hills, feeding on dead carcasses, sometimes making a meal of 
what the jaguar has left. It often sits aloft on the branch of a dead tree, watching for hours the 
herds of cattle, and, when opportunity ofi"ers, pouncing down on a new-born calf, ere yet it is able 
to stand M. D'Orbigny saw a poor cow standing with her calf between her legs, and by her 
horns and her bellowings keeping off a flock of vultures that sought to devour the helpless young 
animal. The name of Xing of the Vultures is bestowed partly on account of the red fleshy wattle, 
which appears like a diadem on his head, and partly also on account of the tyranny w^hich he 
exercises over the smaller kinds of vultures, which stand aloot^ not daring to approach, while he 
is making his gluttonous repast. 
The Sacred Vulture, S. sacer ; described as found in Florida by Bartram many years ago, 
has not since been identified. The crown of the head is red ; the skin of the neck is bar.' and 
annulated nearly to the breast. The plumage is white or cream-colored, except the quill-feathers 
of the wings, which are dark brown ; the tail is white, tipped with brown. It has been con- 
jectured that this bird may have belonged to some one of the species we have described. 
Genus CONDOR : Gryphus. — This includes a single species, the Condor — the Great Vulture 
of the Andes ; G. typus of Isidore Geoftroy. It is the largest known bird of prey, being about 
four feet long, with nine feet average expanse of wing, sometimes, however, extending to fourteen ; 
still it is but little larger than the lammergcyer, but there is something in its majestic flight, its 
ponderous aspect, and the sublime scenery among which it is observed, that makes it appear alto- 
gether more gigantic than any other bird. Even to Humboldt, when traveling among the tower- 
ing Andes — seeing it perched on the steepling cliffs, or nestling upon the mountain heights at 
the verge of perpetual snow — it had the appearance of a winged giant, and it was not until he 
had made repeated measurements that the illusion vanished. 
The real facts in the case are, however, sufficiently startling. "These birds," says Nuttall, "are 
known to soar to an elevation almost six times greater than that at which the clouds are ordina- 
rily suspended over our heads. At the immense height of nearly six perpendicular miles, the 
condor is seen majestically sailing in the ethereal space, watchfully surveying the vast expanse in 
quest of his accustomed prey. Elevated farther above our planet than any other animal, impelled 
