Accipitres. BIRDS. Falconid.(E. 24B 
the red naked skin upon the head. The same general 
similarity to the gallinaceous birds, which indeed pre- 
vails more or less throughout the Vultures, is also 
expressed in the name of Gallinazo, which appears to 
be common to both the species whose names stand at 
the head of the present article. The Turkey vulture 
measures about two feet and a half in length, and six 
feet in expanse of wing. The general colour of its 
plumage is a sooty brown, with the back and shoulders 
blackish. The naked slun of the head and neck is 
reddish, beset with scattered black hairs ; and the back 
of the neck is covered with blackish down. These 
birds are found not only over the greater part of South 
America, but also in the southern states of the North 
American Union ; and during the summer they even 
extend their range still further towards the north. 
They are very gregarious in their habits, and congre- 
gate in great numbers in the neighbourhood of the 
towns and villages, where they perform the most 
valuable service in devouring the carrion and olfal, 
which, in many districts of South America especially, 
are far too abundant to be conducive to the health of 
the human irihabitants. So numerous are the birds, 
that Humboldt tells us he has seen seventy or eighty 
of them at once surrounding a dead ox ; and he adds, 
that, as mentioned in the preceding article, the appear- 
ance of a single lung vulture in the midst of this crowd 
is quite sufBcient to stop their gormandizing, until the 
new-comer has satisfied his no less ravenous appetite. 
By their human neighbours the vultures are never 
disturbed. The beneficial nature of their operations is 
thoroughly understood by the inhabitants of the coun- 
tries frequented by them, and everywhere they are 
under the protection of the laws, so that to kill one 
of them would in most places subject the offender to 
a fine ; whilst in Cuba, according to M. D’Orbigny, 
excommimication is not regarded as too severe a 
punishment. D’Azara states that this vulture, if 
trained early, will acquire so much attachment to its 
master as to follow him on a journey for many miles. 
The flight of the Tm’key vulture is described as being 
exceedingly lofty and elegant. “ On a tine day,” says 
Mr. Darwin, “ a flock may be observed at a great 
height, each bird wheeling rormd and round, without 
closing its wings, in the most graceful evolutions. 
This is clearly done for sport’s sake, or perhaps is 
connected with their matrimonial alliances.” Accord- 
ing to Mr. Gosse, the soaring of these vultures in 
flocks is regarded in Jamaica as indicative of a thunder- 
storm ; and he says that at other times they are gene- 
rally seen singly or in pairs. According to the writer 
just quoted, the Turkey vulture, called the John Crow 
vulture in Jamaica, would appear occasionally to kill 
his own game, at least if he can meet with a weakly 
lamb or pig at a distance from its mother. He will 
also venture to attack a large hog if it be lying in a 
sick condition, picbing out its eyes ; but first dis- 
charging his excrements upon it, to see whether it is 
strong enough to rise, which this indignity rarely fails 
to effect, if the creature is still capable of any exertion. 
It was from his observations upon this species that 
Audubon was led to mamtain, that the vultures are 
guided to their prey rather by the faculty of sight than by 
that of smell. He found that they would soon descend 
to attack the stuffed skin of an animal when exposed in 
the open air ; whilst the carcass of a hog, which was 
concealed under the bushes in a ravine, remained 
unnoticed by them, although many of them flew over 
the spot, and it ultimately became so offensive that 
Audubon himself could not venture to approach it. 
Mr. Gosse, from his observations on the species in 
Jamaica, seems to think that both the senses of smell 
and sight may co-operate in betraying to the bird the 
presence of its food, and that those naturalists who 
attribute this to either of these senses exclusively are 
in error. In support of the view tliat tlie olfactory 
organs have something to do in the matter, he relates 
the following anecdote — “ A poor German immigrant,” 
he says, “ who lived alone in a detached cottage, rose 
from his bed after a two days’ confinement by fever, 
to purchase in the market some fresh meat for a little 
soup. Before he could do more than prepare the 
several ingredients of herbs and roots, and put his 
meat in water for the preparation of his pottage, the 
paroxysm of fever had returned, and he laid himself 
upon his bed exhausted. Two days elapsed in this 
state of helplessness and inanition ; by which time the 
mass of meat and pot herbs had putrefied, the stench 
becoming very perceptible in the neighbourhood. 
Vulture after vulture, as they sailed past, were observed 
always to descend to the cottage of the German, and 
to sweep round, as if they had tracked some putrid 
carcass, but failed to find exactly where it was.” 
This led the neighbours to break open the door, when 
the man was found in a state of utter exhaustion, and 
his preparations for soup -making in a most intolerably 
offensive condition. 
The Urubu, or Black vulture, as it is sometimes 
called, closely resembles the preceding in its appear- 
ance and habits, so much so indeed, that as both are 
found in precisely the same countries, the two species 
have frequently been confoimded together. The Uru- 
bus are exceedingly common in Peru, where, according 
to Tschudi, they sit in incredible numbers on the roofs 
of the houses and along the walls of the streets, exposed 
to the full blaze of the noonday sun, and sleeping with 
their heads under their wings. 
A third species of the genus Caihartes has been 
described, namely, the Californian Vulture {Cath- 
artes Calif wnianus). It resembles the preceding 
both in form and size ; but was formerly supposed to 
rival the condor in the latter particular. The general 
colour of the plumage is black, with the tips of the 
secondary feathers white. The head and neck are 
covered with a rather smooth, naked, red skin. 
Family II.— FALCONIDAE. 
The Falconidse include not only the true Falcons, 
but also the numerous hawks and eagles, nearly all of 
which exhibit a predaceous disposition of a far more 
decided character than that of the vultures. The 
birds of this family are indeed for the most part of an 
exceedingly rapacious nature, generally feeding prin- 
cipally upon prey captured by themselves, and only 
condescending to devour such dead carcasses as they 
