THE VULTURE. 
139 
a battle seen before, as a Cornish miner and a Con- 
dor. The man declared he never had had such a trial 
of strength in his life, that he put his knee upon the 
bird's breast, and tried with all his might to twist 
its neck, but that the Condor, objecting to this, 
struggled most violently, and he fully expected that 
several others, which were flying over his head, would 
take part against him, and assist their companion. 
At length, however, he succeeded, as he supposed, 
and carrying off the pinion-quills in triumph, left the 
bird for dead; but so tenacious are they of life, and 
so difficult to kill, that another horseman who passed 
the spot some time after, found it still living and 
struggling. 
Feeding, as Vultures do, on carrion, plunging 
their beaks into putrid masses of decayed flesh, were 
they covered with feathers like Eagles and Hawks, 
about their heads and necks, they would soon be- 
come clotted with gore, and be an incumbrance to 
the bird; accordingly the head and lower part of the 
neck, in all the tribe, are more or less covered either 
with down or wattles, or the skin is left almost 
naked, as in the annexed figure 2. 
Figure 1. Figure 2. 
