196 
6 '. CRUZ , PATAGONIA 
CHAP. 
hidden mass on which they were trampling. These facts are 
attested by the signatures of six gentlemen, besides that of Mr. 
Bachman . 1 
Often when lying down to rest on the open plains, on 
looking upwards, I have seen carrion-hawks sailing through the 
air at a great height. Where the country is level I do not 
believe a space of the heavens, of more than fifteen degrees 
above the horizon, is commonly viewed with any attention by a 
person either walking or on horseback. If such be the case, 
and the vulture is on the wing at a height of between three and 
four thousand feet, before it could come within the range of 
vision, its distance in a straight line from the beholder’s 
eye would be rather more than two British miles. Might it 
not thus readily be overlooked ? When an animal is killed by 
the sportsman in a lonely valley, may he not all the while be 
watched from above by the sharp-sighted bird ? And will not 
the manner of its descent proclaim throughout the district 
to the whole family of carrion - feeders, that their prey is at 
hand ? 
When the condors are wheeling in a flock round and round 
any spot, their flight is beautiful. Except when rising from the 
ground, I do not recollect ever having seen one of these birds 
flap its wings. Near Lima, I watched several for nearly half an 
hour, without once taking off my eyes : they moved in large 
curves, sweeping in circles, descending and ascending without 
giving a single flap. As they glided close over my head, I 
intently watched from an oblique position the outlines of the 
separate and great terminal feathers of each wing ; and these 
separate feathers, if there had been the least vibratory move¬ 
ment, would have appeared as if blended together ; but they 
were seen distinct against the blue sky. The head and neck 
were moved frequently, and apparently with force ; and the 
extended wings seemed to form the fulcrum on which the 
movements of the neck, body, and tail acted. If the bird 
wished to descend, the wings were for a moment collapsed ; 
and when again expanded with an altered inclination, the 
momentum gained by the rapid descent seemed to urge the 
bird upwards with the even and steady movement of a paper 
kite. In the case of any bird soaring , its motion must be 
1 Loudon’s Magazine of Nat. Hist. vol. vii. 
