The CONDORS, or WATTLED VULTURES (Sarcorhamphi), as three of the largest species of True Vultures have been called, are at once recognisable by their comparatively slender bodies, long narrow wings, and long tails. The tarsi are high and the toes large; their neck is of moderate size, and the head long; the beak, compressed at the side, terminates in a powerful hook, which, in the male, is decorated above the base of the upper mandible with a kind of fleshy comb, and, in the region of the chin, with wattles or folds of skin. The nostrils are very peculiar in their formation, not having the usual division between them. The plumage is composed of small, brightly coloured feathers, and does not cover the whole body, some parts being left entirely bare. Unlike most of their family, the males of the three known species of Condors are larger than the females.
THE CONDOR.
The CONDOR (Sarcorhamphus gryphus, or Sarcorhamphus condor) has been the subject of even more extravagant tales than its European representative, the Lämmergeier, as its name of Gryphus or Griffin indicates; indeed, the travellers of former times seem to have thought no anecdotes too absurd to impose upon the popular mind either concerning the bird itself, or other productions of the countries it inhabits. The plumage of the full-grown Condor is principally black, enlivened by a slight metallic lustre; the upper part of the wings is black, but all the quills are tipped with patches of white, which become gradually so broad that the shoulder feathers are almost entirely white, and only black at their origin. The back of the head, face, and throat are blackish grey, the neck flesh colour, and the region of the crop pale red; the fold of skin and two warty lappets on either side of the throat of the male are bright red. In both sexes the neck is surrounded by a ruff of white feathers; the eyes are fiery red, the beak horn colour, and the feet dark brown. Humboldt gives the dimensions of the Condor as follows:—The body three feet three inches, span across the wings eight feet nine inches, and the tail fourteen inches. The female, according to the same authority, is one inch shorter, and nine inches less in breadth.
All the highlands of South America, from Quito to fifteen degrees south latitude, afford a home to this huge bird, whose powers of flight are stupendous; indeed, we are told on reliable authority that it is capable of soaring to an altitude of 22,000 feet above the level of the sea, thus surpassing any other member of the feathered race in its wonderful strength of wing. In Peru and Bolivia it lives and breeds upon the sea-coast, but is by no means so numerous as in mountainous districts. Except during the period of incubation, Condors fly in large parties, spending the entire day in sailing majestically about in search of food, and pass the night perched upon one of their favourite ledges or lofty pinnacles of rock. "Near Lima," says Mr. Darwin, "I once watched several Condors for half-an-hour together. They moved in large curves, sweeping in circles, ascending and descending, without once flapping their pinions. As they glided close to my head I intently watched from an oblique position the outlines of the separate and terminal feathers of their wings. If there had been the slightest vibratory motion these would have been blended together; but they remained distinct under the blue sky. If the bird wished to descend, the wings for a moment collapsed, and then, when again expanded with an altered inclination, the momentum gained by the rapid descent seemed to urge it upward with the steady, even motion of a paper kite."
The food of these gigantic birds consists principally of carrion; but they also destroy pumas, vicunas, sheep, and even calves, and thus work terrible havoc among the flocks and herds of the sturdy mountaineers, who are compelled to train their watch-dogs for the especial duty of barking incessantly as long as one of these formidable marauders is within sight of their flocks. Modern writers all agree in corroborating the statement of the Indians that this species never molests children, and as much as possible avoids the vicinity of man, though, if actually attacked, it displays extraordinary courage, as the following extract from the journal of Sir Francis Head fully shows:—"In riding along the plain I passed a dead horse, about which were forty or fifty Condors. Many of them were gorged and unable to fly from repletion, several were standing on the ground, devouring the carcase, the rest hovering over it. I rode within twenty yards of them, and saw one of them displaying his strength as he lifted the flesh and tore out great pieces, sometimes shaking his head and pulling with his beak, and sometimes pushing with his leg. Got to Mendoza and went to bed. Wakened by one of my party who arrived. He told me that, seeing the Condors hovering in the air, he also had ridden up to the dead horse, and as one of these enormous birds flew about fifty yards off and was unable to go any further, he rode up to him, and, jumping off his horse, seized him by the neck. The contest was as extraordinary as the rencontre was unexpected. My companion said that he had never had such a battle in his life; that he had put his knee upon the bird's breast and tried with all his strength to twist his neck, but that the Condor, objecting to this, struggled violently, and, moreover, that as several others were flying over his head he expected that they would attack him. At last he succeeded in killing his antagonist, and showed me with great pride the large feathers from his wings."
The preparations made by these birds for their young are extremely slight; indeed, in most instances the two eggs laid by the female are deposited upon the bare rock. The eggs are large, the shell yellowish white, spotted with brown. When first hatched, the young are covered with a coat of grey down; they grow but slowly, and remain under the protection of their parents long after they are fully fledged. Some tribes of Indians prize the heart and other portions of the body of the Condor as invaluable specifics for many serious maladies, and more than one modern writer has testified to their efficacy in certain complaints. When caged this gigantic bird has been known to become comparatively tame, and attached to its keeper.
THE CALIFORNIAN CONDOR.
The CALIFORNIAN CONDOR (Sarcorhamphus Californianus), as the second member of this group is called, is found throughout the mountains of California. According to Taylor, this bird is four feet six inches in length (of which fifteen inches belong to the tail), and eight feet four inches across the span of the wings. Its plumage is of an uniform dark brown or black, marked upon the wings with a triangular spot; the breast is dirty white, as are the exterior feathers of the under surface of the wings; the head, with the exception of a three-cornered stripe covered with small feathers, is bright lemon yellow; the neck is of a dirty flesh colour. The habits of this species resemble those of its congeners, but it is found in larger numbers near the coast, and subsists principally upon fish.
THE KING OF THE VULTURES.