242 luE CoNDOh. BIRDS. ^The King Vulture. 
to ascend to a gi'eater height in the air than any other 
bird. That traveller ascertained, by actual measure- 
ment, that the height attained by one of these birds 
must have been at least 23,000 feet above the level of 
tlie sea ; and in the neighbourhood of Cotopaxi, at an 
elevation of 14,471 feet, he observed a condor at such 
an altitude, that it appeared as a mere black speck in 
the sky. Even at the aseertained level, it is, as he 
remarks, a singular physiological phenomenon, “ that 
the same bird which wheels for hours together through 
these highly rarefied regions (where the barometer 
scarcely stands at 12'7 inches), should be able sud- 
denly, as for instanee on the western declivity of 
Pichincha, to descend to the sea-shore, and thus in 
the course of a few hours traverse, as it were, all 
climates.” 
In its habits the Condor appears closely to resemble 
the Lammergeyer, unless its predilection for carrion 
may be considered rather stronger. But it not only 
feeds freely on the carcasses of dead animals, but also 
destroys many lambs, calves, and young llamas, espe- 
cially when just bom and in a perfectly helpless state. 
For these purposes, the Condors, which usually live 
singly or in pairs, congregate in small flocks; but there 
appears to be no foundation for the stories of their 
uniting to destroy full-grown cattle and llamas, any 
more than their attacking man or carrying off chil- 
dren in their talons. Of the latter crime, indeed, the 
structure of their feet may prove them guiltless, for 
tlie small development of the hinder toe must render 
them quite incapable of perpetrating any such enormity. 
The accounts of their attacking men are equally desti- 
tute of foundation. Humboldt learnt from the Indians 
that the Condors are perfectly innocent of this ; and 
he also states tlrat he frequently approached within 
ten or twelve yards of them, when sitting three or four 
together upon the rocks, and that they never showed 
the least disposition to attack him. Nevertheless, the 
damage done by the Condors to the domesticated 
animals of Peru and Chili is so considerable, that 
the inhabitants' regard them as among their most 
formidable enemies, and miss no opportunity of de- 
stroying tlrem. For this purpose, they sometimes lay 
tlie carcass of some large animal as a bait, and shoot 
the Condors as they descend upon it to feed, or, wait- 
ing imtil they have eaten their fill, capture them with 
the lasso. But more commonly the bait is laid down 
in a space surromided by strong palisades, which, by 
preventing the birds from taking the short run, with 
their wings half extended, necessary to enable them to 
rise from the ground in their gorged state, gives the 
Indians the opportunity of despatching a great number 
of them at once. 
The Condor makes no nest, but lays its eggs upon 
the bare rocks, simply selecting a spot where there 
are cavities large enough to receive the eggs, and pre- 
vent them from being rolled down when the parent 
descends upon or rises from them. The situations 
chosen by the Condors for this purpose are always 
exeeedingly inaccessible. The eggs are said to be two 
in number, and the Indians describe them as of a white 
colour, which is also that of a specimen from Chili 
deposited in the Museum at Paris by M. Claude Gay. 
M. D'Orbigny, from a fragment seen by him, supposes 
the eggs to be spotted with reddish-brown. 
THE KING VULTURE [Sarcorkamphus Papa ) — 
Plate 1, fig 2. The King vulture, the only other 
species of the genus Sarcorhamphus, is particularly 
remarkable for the brilliant colours which adorn the 
naked skin of its head and neck. The comb which 
surmounts the nostrils in the male, is of a brilliant 
orange colour ; the face is blackish violet ; a scarlet 
ring surrounds the eyes ; a patch of black down occu- 
pies the back of the head, and from this a reddish- 
brown fold of skin runs down on each side below the 
eye. The upper part of the neck is bright red, and 
this colour gradually fades into orange and yellow on 
the lower parts. The frill surrounding the base of the 
neck is ashy-gvey ; the plumage of the upper parts of 
the body is of a delicate fawn colour, and that of the 
lower surface white ; whilst the quill feathers of the 
wings and tail are black. The contrast of these varied 
colours renders this vulture one of the most beautiful 
of the birds of prey, and forms a costume worthy of 
the King of the vultures — a title which, however, 
belongs to him by a better right than only the magni- 
ficence of his clothmg. 
This fine bird is an inhabitant of a great part of South 
America ; but, unlike the condor, it is an inhabitant 
rather of the vast plains and forests than of the 
mountainous regions. It is most abundant within the 
tropics, but extends its range beyond these lines, being 
found commonly not only in Guiana, Brazil, and Peru, 
but also in Paraguay and Mexico, and occasionally 
visiting Florida in search of food. It feeds upon 
reptiles and carrion, and even upon ordure, and in 
summer devoms great quantities of the fishes which 
perish in consequence of the drying up of the shallow 
lakes. Its visits to Florida are said to be generally 
made after the herbage has been burnt upon the 
prairies, where it feeds greedily upon the half-roasted 
snakes and other reptiles which have been unable to 
escape from the flames. In its ordinary haunts, these 
birds are frequently met with in considerable numbers 
in the vicinity of the towns and villages, which are 
also frequented by flocks of turkey vultures, which 
will form the subject of the next article. We are told 
by all witers on the natural history of these regions, 
that when a band of the latter birds are squabbling 
over their food after the ordinary vulturine fashion, the 
appearance of a single bird of this species is sufficient 
to disperse the whole assembly, who wait patiently 
at a short distance until their king has satisfied his appe- 
tite. This is confirmed by Humboldt. 
THE TURKEY VULTURE {Cathartes aura), and the 
URUBU {Cathartes feetens). — These two birds, which 
are very neary allied, are known by the name of 
Gallinazos in the Spanish colonies, where, ag in all 
the warmer parts of America, they are exceedingly 
abundant. They have a longer and more slender bill 
than the condor. The head is destitute of caruncles, 
and covered only with a naked, wrinkled skin; and the 
nostrils are pierced in the sides of the cere. The 
Turkey vulture, also frequently called the Turkey 
Buzzard, owes its denomination to the marked resem- 
blance which it presents to a turkey, both in size and 
