a genus of birds belonging to the order of Accipitres. The beak is straight and crooked at the point; the head has no feathers; on the forepart being only naked skin; and the tongue is generally bifid. There are 21 species. The most remarkable are,

1. Gryphus, the condor, which is not only the largest of this genus, but perhaps of all others which are able to fly. The accounts of authors in regard to its extent of wing are various, viz. from 9 to 18 feet from the tip of one wing to that of the other. One gives it strength sufficient to carry off sheep, and boys of 10 years old; while another ventures to affirm, that it can lift an elephant from the ground high enough to kill it by the fall! M. de Salerne says, that one of this kind was shot in France in the year 1719, which weighed 18 lb. and whose extent of wing was 18 feet. But to come nearer the truth, perhaps it is better to abide by descriptions which bear a moderate proportion. In Hawkeworth's Voyages, mention is made of one of these birds shot at Port Defire, off Penguin Island, of which he gives the following description: "The head of this bird resembled that of an eagle, except that it had a large comb upon it. Round the neck it had a white ruff, exactly resembling a lady's tippet; the feathers on the back were as black as jet, and as bright as the finest polish could render that mineral; the legs were remarkably strong and large, and the talons like those of an eagle, except that they were not so sharp; and the wings, when they were extended, measured, from point to point, no less than 12 feet." This last account seems by no means to exceed the natural size, since we have an account in the Philosophical Transactions of one of the quill-feathers of this bird, brought from Chili, which measured 12 feet 4 inches; the diameter of the quill half an inch; and the extent of wing 16 feet. This bird was met in latitude 33 south, not far from the island Mocha, in the South Sea, in the year 1691. The seamen shot it on a cliff by the sea-side; and taking it for a kind of turkey, made a meal of it. In this account we are told that the colour was black and white, like a magpie, and the crest or comb sharp like a razor.

It seems now certain, that the account given by the editor of Cook's Voyage is very nearly, if not precisely, the truth, as two birds of this kind are now in the museum of Mr Parkinson, and are probably male and female. The first of these has an extent of wing somewhat under 11 feet. The bill is strong, moderately hooked, and blunt at the tip, which is white, the rest of it being of a dusky colour. On the top of the head runs a kind of carunculated substance, standing up like the comb of a cock. The head and neck are slightly covered with brown down, in some parts nearly bare, and here and there a carunculated part, as in the neck of a turkey. The lower part of the neck is surrounded with a ruff of a pure white and hairy kind of feathers. The upper parts of the body, wings, and tail, are black, except that the middle wing coverts have whitish ends, and the greater coverts half black half white. The nine or ten first quills are black, the red white, with the tips only black; and when the wings are closed, producing the appearance of the bird having the back white; giving occasion to Molucc, in his History of Chili, to say, that the back was white. The under parts of the body are rather slightly covered with feathers; but those of the thighs are pretty long. The legs are stout and brown; claws black and blunt.

The second bird in Mr Parkinson's collection, chiefly differs from the first, in having not the least appearance of a comb or crest, but smooth for the most part, except where the head and neck are covered with down. The ruff on the lower part of the neck is not so full and conspicuous; but as to the colour of the plumage, the difference is not worth noticing. It is not impossible but this last may prove to be a young male, for Moluc expressly says, that the female is smaller than the male, of a brown colour, and has no ruff about the neck, only a small tuft at the back part.

These birds are said to make the nest among the inaccessible rocks, and to lay two white eggs, larger than those of a turkey; are very destructive to sheep, and will in troops often attempt calves; in which case, some of them first pick out the eyes, whilst others attack the poor animal on all sides, and soon tear him to pieces. This gives rise to the following stratagem, used by the peasants of Chili: One of them wraps himself up in the hide of a fresh killed sheep or ox, and lies still on the ground; the condor, supposing it to be lawful prey, flies down to secure it, when the person concealed lays hold of the legs of the bird, his hands being well covered with gloves; and immediately his comrades, who are concealed at a distance, run in, and assist to secure the depredator, by falling on him with sticks till they have killed him. See Plate DX. fig. 4.

2. The Percnopterus, or Egyptian vultur. The appearance of this bird is as horrid as can well be imagined, viz. the face is naked and wrinkled; the eyes are large and black; the beak black and hooked; the talons large, and extending ready for prey; and the whole body polluted with filth: these are qualities enough to make the beholder fludder with horror. Notwithstanding this, the inhabitants of Egypt cannot be enough thankful to Providence for this bird. All the places round Cairo are filled with the dead bodies of asses and camels; and thousands of these birds fly about, and devour the carcases before they putrefy and fill the air with noxious exhalations. The inhabitants of Egypt, and after them Maillet in his Description of Egypt, say, that they yearly follow the caravan to Mecca, and devour the filth of the slaughtered beasts, and the carcases of the camels which die on the journey. They do not fly high, nor are they afraid of men. If one is killed, all the rest surround him in the same manner as do the royston crows; they do not quit the places they frequent, though frightened by the explosion of a gun, but immediately return thither. Maillet imagines this bird to be the ibis of the ancients; but it is scarcely to be imagined, that a wise nation should pay such honours to an unclean, impure, and rapacious bird, which was not perhaps so common before the Egyptians filled the streets with carcases. If the ibis is to be found, it must certainly be looked for in the order of grallae of Linnaeus; and we imagine it to be the white stork (Ardea ciconia), which is so common in Egypt. The Arabians call it rochame; the French living in Egypt, give it the name of chapon de Pharaon, or de Mahomet.

3. The aura, or carrion vulture, according to Mr Latham, is about the size of a turkey, though it varies in size in different parts. The bill is white; the end black; irides bluish saffron-colour. The head, and part of the neck, are bare of feathers; and of a red, or rather rufous colour. The sides of the head wanted, not unlike that of a turkey. The whole plumage is brown black, with a purple and green gloss in different reflections; but in some birds, especially young ones, greatly verging to dirty brown. The feathers of the quills and tail are blacker than the rest of the body. The legs are flesh-colour; the claws black.

This bird is very common in the West Indies, and both in North and South America. It feeds on dead carcases, snakes, &c. like most of this genus; which makes the smell of it very offensive. In general, it is very tame in its wild state, but particularly so when trained up from being young. This our author experienced in two birds sent home from Jamaica. They were suffered to run wild about the garden, and were alert and brisk during the summer months; but impatient of the least cold; for a rainy day, with the highest degree of cold, obliged them to creep for shelter. In the West Indies, they roost together of nights, in vast numbers, like rooks in this country. They are reckoned a most useful animal in the places where they roost; which secures their safety, added to a penalty for killing one, which is in force in Jamaica, and other islands of the West Indies.

4. The sagittarius, or secretary, is a most singular species, being particularly remarkable from the great length of its legs; which at first sight would induce one to think it belonged to waders; but the characters of the vultur are so strongly marked throughout, as to leave no doubt to which class it belongs.

The bird, when standing erect, is full three feet from the top of the head to the ground. The bill is black, sharp, and crooked, like that of an eagle; the head, neck, breast, and upper parts of the body, are of a bluish ash colour; the legs are very long, flouter than those of a heron, and of a brown colour; claws shortish, but crooked, not very sharp, and of a black colour; from the hind-head forings a number of long feathers, which hang loose behind like a pendent crest; these feathers arise by pairs, and are longer as they are lower down on the neck; this crest the bird can erect or depress at pleasure; it is of a dark colour, almost black; the webs are equal on both sides, and rather curled; and the feathers, when erected, somewhat incline towards the neck; the two middle feathers of the tail twice as long as any of the rest.

This singular species inhabits the internal parts of Africa, and is frequently seen at the Cape of Good Hope. It is also met with in the Philippine islands.

The description was taken by Mr Latham from three that were alike, which he saw in England alive some years since; two of which are now in the Leverian museum. From confinement they had lost their two long tail feathers; but this want was supplied by some accurate drawings by Sir Joseph Banks, taken from the life at the Cape.

As to the manners of this bird, it is on all hands allowed that it principally feeds on rats, lizards, snakes, and the like; and that it will become familiar: whence Sonnerat is of opinion, that it might be made useful in some of our colonies, if encouraged, towards the destruction of those pests. They call it at the Cape of Good Hope flangeater, i.e. snake eater. A great peculiarity belongs to it, perhaps observed in no other; which is, the faculty of striking forwards with its legs, never backwards. Dr Solander has seen one of these birds take up a snake, small tortoise, or such like, in its claws; when dashing it from thence against the ground with great violence, if the victim was not killed at first, it repeated the operation till that end was answered; after which it ate it up quietly. Dr J. R. Forster mentioned a further circumstance, which he says was supposed to be peculiar to this bird; that should it by any accident break the leg, the bone would never unite again.