XVI 
RHINOCEROS 
103 
All those birds, flying at high altitudes, have 
been soaring upon endless wings, never fatigued 
by motion, as they seldom flap, but only adjust 
themselves to the currents of air upon which 
they float; and having with their extraordinary 
powers of sight observed the hurry of smaller 
birds to some attractive point, they have at 
once directed their course, to fulfil the Biblical 
expression, “Where the carcase lies, there shall 
the eagles (vultures) be gathered together.” 
The audacity of the vulture is remarkable, in 
countries where it pursues its course undisturbed. 
I have known an instance where, in a serious battle, 
in the midst of musketry and the dense smoke and 
flame of a general conflagration, the vultures 
mutilated the bodies of the killed before they could 
be carried off the field. 
Last, but not least, of all birds of carrion tastes is 
the adjutant. When the buzzard has driven away 
the crow, the red-necked vulture has driven off the 
buzzard, and the bare-necked vulture has kicked 
out the red-necked intruder, the long-legged and 
gigantic-beaked adjutant arrives upon the scene of 
turmoil, where feathers, dust, and blood are mingled 
with the shrieking and quarrelling of mixed varieties. 
All stand clear when the adjutant appears, as the 
long bill delivers its pecks to the right and left, and 
commands attention and respect. This bird, which 
carries its supply of water in a bag beneath the bill, 
pendant from the throat, flies at a higher altitude 
than any other, and arrives upon the scene the last. 
