'TRAVELS IN 
long, and bare of feathers a great length above 
the knees, are of a dark dull greenifh colour : it 
has a fmall bag or pouch under its throat : it feeds 
on ferpents,. young alligators, frogs, and other rep- 
tiles. 
This folitary bird does not affociate in flocks, but 
is generally feen alone ; commonly near the banks 
of great rivers, in vaft marfhes or meadows, efpe- 
cially fuch as are caufed by inundations and alio 
in the vaft deferted rice plantations : he Hands 
alone on the topmofc limb of tall dead cyprefs trees, 
his neck contracted or drawn in upon his fhoulders*. 
and beak refling like a long fey the upon his breaft : 
in this penflve pofture and folitary fituation, it 
looks extremely grave, farrowful, and melancholy, as 
if in the deeped thought. They are never feen on 
the fait fea coaft, and yet are never found at a great 
diftance from it. I take this bird to be of a different 
genus from the tantalus, and perhaps it approaches 
the neareft to the Egyptian ibis of any other bird yet 
known. 
There are two fpecies of vultures* in thefe re- 
gions, I think not mentioned in hiftory r the firft we- 
fnail deferibe is a beautiful bird, near the flze of 
a turkey buzzard f, but his wings are much fhorter, 
and confequently he falls greatly below that admi- 
rable bird in fail. I fhall call this bird the painted 
vulture. The bill is long and ftraight almoft to 
the point, when it is hooked or bent fuddenly down 
and fliarp ; the head and neck bare of feathers 
nearly down to the ftomach, when the feathers be- 
gin to cover the fldn, and foon become long and 
of a foft texture, forming a ruff or tippet, in which 
the bird by contracting his neck can hide that as 
* Yultur facra. -p Valtu'r a urea. 
well 
