43^ 
THE LIVING WORLD. 
color of the throat and back of neck change into scarlet on the sides of the neck 
and on the crown of the head. The bill is orange and black with an orange 
colored cere . In his presence other vultures are submissive and will never 
attack a carcase until 
the king vulture has 
claimed his regal pre¬ 
cedence. 
The South Ameri¬ 
can Condor (, Sarcor - 
hamphus gryphus) is 
the type of the vulture 
family. It is about 
the same size as the 
bearded vulture, but 
has the extraordinary 
wing expanse of ten 
feet, while its 
strength is surprising¬ 
ly great in proportion. 
Its general color is a 
gray-black though the 
markings are not al¬ 
ways the same. Its 
head and neck (as if 
to insure greater ease 
and neatness in its 
work as a scavenger) 
are destitute of feath¬ 
ers ; the wings grow 
white towards the ends, 
and around the neck 
is a beautiful, white, 
fluffy ruff. The male 
is crested, and as the 
condor when at rest 
conceals its beak in 
its ruff, it then pre¬ 
sents the semblance 
of a curious freak of 
nature. Its vision is 
even more remarkable 
than that of the tele¬ 
scopic eyes of its con¬ 
geners, and while itself 
at an altitude so great 
as to render it invisi¬ 
ble to man, will espy its quarry and steal into its presence like a phantom. 
All accounts of travel in South America, Africa and Asia, are full of the con¬ 
stant, sudden and mysterious appearance of vultures when game has been shot. 
GREAT VULTURE OF THE ANDES ( Vultur gryphus). 
