BLACK VULTURES.
When disturbed, these birds eject foul-smelling matter.
The commonest of the New World vultures is the Turkey-buzzard, which is found over the whole of temperate and tropical America. Of the four species commonly known as Turkey-buzzards, three are exclusively South American—the fourth ranges as far north as New York and British Columbia, and in the Southern and Middle United States is very common, perambulating the streets or perching on the house-tops.
Photo by Robert D. Carson, Esq.] [Philadelphia.
CALIFORNIAN VULTURE.
The bare parts of the head are of a brick-red colour.
Other species are the small Black Vulture, a dull, uninteresting-looking bird, and the Californian Vulture. This latter is a large species, and in the expanse of wing may even exceed the condor. At one time its extermination seemed certain, owing to its falling a victim to the poisoned meat laid out by the stock-keepers for carnivorous mammals, but in the more barren and inaccessible regions it appears to be on the increase.
The Secretary-bird.
The second of the three main divisions into which the Birds of Prey are divided is reserved for the Secretary-bird. This bird derives its name from the crest of long feathers which bear a fanciful resemblance to the quill-pens a clerk is supposed to stick above his ear. It differs from all the other members of the Hawk Tribe in the exceedingly long legs, which in the young are said to be so fragile as to fracture if the bird is suddenly alarmed. It feeds chiefly on insects and reptiles, especially snakes, for which last it seems to have a special liking. It attacks even the most venomous species, striking at them with its powerful wings and pounding them with its feet, jumping upon them with great force, till rendered helpless, when they are at once swallowed head-foremost. On account of its great value as a snake-eater it has been accorded special protection, though unfortunately there is a tendency on the part of English settlers to relax this, on account of the fact that it will occasionally eat animals coming within the scope of "game." Valuable as the latter may be, there yet seems no justification for such a course.