236 
ORDERS OF BIRDS— BIRDS OF PREY 
birds. For three years, a very fine specimen 
has lived in the National Zoological Park, at 
Washington, shut up at night in an elevated sleep- 
ing-box. In the morning when liberated in its 
enclosure, it perches aloft, spreads its wings 
and holds them out to catch the sun’s rays, in 
true vulture fashion. 
Largest of all the Birds of Prey is the Condor 1 
of the Andes, a bird of lofty home but lowly hab- 
its. In the Andes of Chili and Peru, its range is 
from 9,000 to 16,000 feet above the sea, and it 
not only feeds upon dead guanacos and vicunias, 
horses and other domestic animals, but it also 
ventures to attack living calves and old horses 
1 Sar-co-rham'pus gry'phus. Length of male, 48 
inches; spread of wings, 8£ to 91 feet. 
that are almost incapable of defence. Condors 
are so easily captured alive that the zoological 
gardens of the world are always well stocked 
with them. 
By nature the Condor is a peace-loving bird, 
and for two years visitors to the New York Zoo- 
logical Park have witnessed the strange spectacle 
of the world’s largest bird of prey — the fine adult 
male shown in the accompanying plate — living 
in the great Flying Cage in peace and harmony 
with about eighty flamingoes, herons, egrets, 
ibises, ducks, other water-birds and various land- 
birds. Encouraged by the success of the Condor 
experiment, a large griffon vulture has been 
added to the “happy family,” with very satis- 
factory results. 
