“ The Worshipful Company 
of Scavengers.” 
(74) 
THE BIRD WORLD. 
“The Worshipful Company of 
Scavengers.” 
By FRANK FINN, B.A., F.Z.S* 
We are all of us familar with the proverb which 
tells of the futility of “ waiting to step into dead 
men’s shoes,” but over a large part of the world 
ranges a numerous class of birds whose main 
occupation consists in taking a bird’s-eye view of 
their locality in the hope of profiting by mortality 
among the residents. Of these, the Vultures are 
the chief, and under this name are grouped two 
distinct families of birds, those of the Old World 
being different from those of the New. 
Family Differences. 
The distinction between these two groups of 
Vultures has been laid down by anatomists, but 
anatomical knowledge is not necessary to enable 
one to distinguish them—or indeed, any other 
natural family of birds. On comparing the Vul¬ 
tures of the two continents, it will be noticed that 
those of the Old World have the nostrils separated 
by a partition, as in most animals, while in the 
New World forms you can look right through the 
beak if you get the bird’s head against the light. 
Moreover, the American Vultures have much 
smaller hind-toes than the Old World ones, and 
have all the front toes joined at the base by a 
short web, while in the Old World birds only the 
two outer toes are thus united. 
Distinction in Habits. 
The true Vultures of the Old World build large 
nests of sticks, etc., but the American birds lay 
on the bare ground or rock; they are also almost 
voiceless, whereas the others can utter loud 
sounds. In all the points in which the true Vul¬ 
tures differ from their American representatives, 
they agree with the Eagles, and they may be 
safely placed as near relatives of those magnifi¬ 
cent birds. It must be remembered that even 
Eagles are not above feeding on carrion, though 
the Biblical Eagles which gathered about car¬ 
cases are believed to have been Vultures. 
The Quest for Carrion. 
In their general feeding habits, Vultures are 
much the same everywhere. They are splendid 
flyers, and may be seen wheeling and sailing 
about in an apparently effortless manner all day 
long; this argues that food is scarce with them"; 
for after feeding they are very sluggish, and set¬ 
tle down to digest their meal—often a very big 
one, for they make the most of any opportunity. 
They appear to discover their food almost entirely 
by sight, and, even if any given bird does not 
happen to see a carcase himself, he stands a good 
chance of noting another Vulture or other carrion- 
bird which evidently has done so, and hastens 
to follow its course. Often he finds there is not 
enough carcase to go round, and so has to fight 
for his highly-flavoured repast. 
Regal Authority. 
It is a curious fact that both in the Old and 
New Worlds there are species of Vultures which 
exercise authority over others, and claim the 
lion’s share of what is going. In America the 
lordly bird is the King Vulture ( Gyparchus 
Papa), which rules over the common Black 
Vultures ( Catharistcs atratus), and the Turkey- 
Buzzards. In India the fine Vulture called at the 
Zoo the Pondicherry Vulture ( Otogyps calvus) 
exercises a similar authority over meaner 
scavengers, and it is noticeable that in both cases 
the royal bird is riot only larger and stronger, 
but more brilliantly coloured than his subjects. 
The illustration on Our cover this month gives a 
good idea of the hues of the Indian representa¬ 
tive of vulturine royalty. ■ '; 
Plebeian Vultures. 
The Kolbe's.. Yulture of « South Africa ( Gyps 
kolbii) is a type of what may be called the 
ordinary or average Vulture; the Egyptian 
Vulture ( Neophron percrtopterus), however, is a 
degree lower; it is a small bird for a Vulture, 
not being larger than a big fowl, and has to put 
up with such meagre food as ordure or even 
rotten fruit, being driven from more substantial 
diet by the larger Vultures where these are found 
with it, though it is only too glad of a snack of 
dead meat if iit can get such a treat. 
The Largest Bird that Flies. 
The Condor of the Andes ( Sarcorhamphus 
gryphns ) has the reputation of being not only 
the largest of the Vultures of either hemisphere, 
but the biggest of all flying birds. It is doubtful, 
however, whether it really deserves this posi¬ 
tion, for although a powerfully-built bird, with 
an expanse of wing of about nine feet, it is cer¬ 
tainly not nearly so tall as some of the Storks 
and Cranes, and probably much less heavy than 
the great South African Bustard (Otis kori) 
The specimen in the picture is a young hen, dark 
brown in plumage; but the male is a finer-look¬ 
ing bird, having a comb and dewlap, while 
both sexes when adult are black with white 
secondary quills. 
The primary quills of the Condor are exceed¬ 
ingly large and strong, being, indeed, the big¬ 
gest found in any bird. These great quills are 
sometimes seen as ornaments in ladies’ hats, and, 
much as we may reprobate the killing of so 
majestic a bird for this purpose, it would seem 
that in some places its numbers need keeping 
down, as it is more ferocious than most Vultures, 
and not infrequently attacks living animals, 
such as calves and other farm stock. 
