AMERICAN VULTURES. 
267 
of their ordinary range cannot be more than sixteen thousand feet; while in the 
same district they do not appear to descend below some nine thousand feet. 
Since, however, condors in Patagonia are commonly seen at the sea-level, it 
is probable that there is an 
upland and a lowland race, 
and that the same birds do 
not range from the level of 
the sea to elevations of six¬ 
teen thousand feet. In re¬ 
gard to their habits when 
on the wing, Mr. Whymper 
writes that “ on the few 
occasions upon which we 
were approached by condors 
in a menacing manner, we 
became aware of their pre¬ 
sence from their shadows condors flocking to a dead guanaco. 
being cast upon us by a 
nearly vertical sun. They never came near when the sun was concealed, and 
if they hovered in our neighbourhood they always kept the sun at their backs. 
This cannot be their invariable habit in a country where the sun is so often in¬ 
visible, though possibly it is adopted whenever there is a chance, and the motive 
is obvious. The objects to be attacked are dazzled by the sun’s rays, while the 
