SOUTH AMERICA. 
197 
savoury. In a few clays it sent forth that odour THIRD 
which a carcass should send forth, and about twenty - 1 
of the common vultures came and perched on the 
neighbouring trees; the king of the vultures came 
too; and I observed that none of the common ones 
seemed inclined to begin breakfast till his majesty 
had finished. When he had consumed as much 
snake as nature informed him would do him good, 
he retired to the top of a high mora-tree, and then 
all the common vultures fell too, and made a hearty 
meal. 
The head and neck of the king; of the vultures are The King 
bare of feathers; but the beautiful appearance they Vultures, 
exhibit, fades in death. The throat and the back of 
the neck are of a fine lemon colour; both sides of 
the neck, from the ears downwards, of a rich scarlet; 
behind the corrugated part, there is a white spot. 
The crown of the head is scarlet; betwixt the lower 
mandible and the eye, and close by the ear, there is 
a part which has a fine silvery blue appearance ; 
the corrugated part is of a dirty light brown ; behind 
it, and just above the white spot, a portion of the 
skin is blue, and the rest scarlet; the skin which 
juts out behind the neck, and appears like an oblong 
caruncle, is blue in part, and part orange. 
The bill is orange and black, the caruncles on his its bin. 
forehead orange, and the cere orange ; the orbits 
scarlet, and the irides white. Below the bare part 
of the neck there is a cinereous ruff. The bag of 
the stomach, which is only seen when distended with 
food, is of a most delicate white, intersected with 
