.The skin whidh ëpyerS; the head is uniformly blackish, like t l#
plumage, in whteh th e rë is only a tóttle cinereöuson the wings;
M-tld^ sex thte wing-GOVeftsj which iri the toaleTare white, at. jt ip
frotti th e ’middlej are of a blackish gray. This circumstance is
veryeoririlusive, inasmuch a s tb e white forms a very conspicuous
mark on the wings of the male, which has occ^^pied it to be
Said that some Condors* had a WÉÉte back;
• For severalmpaths during thé early p arto f their life^Wheyoung
are eoveréqjpth soft. whitishdown, curled, and resembftig
that <of young owls : this down- is so loose as to make the -bird
appear a larg^jtóhap^^ss Mass. Even at two yea|f§jfldd*the 0©nd©r
H by rïo m e a n * lack,; bat of an obscure fillvous brown, and both
sexes afe then destitute of the white collar.
The follb wing description and admeasurements a®© from „a pair
óf young living birds, said to be nine months old, caught .on the
(Peruvian Andes. Onri of -these (whieh are precisely alike,^ was
captured by an Indian, who discovering two imtitt# nest, ran up at
great; speed, fearing to be overtaken by thw^oldAoiaes, ;and
ItfÖiéiftd in seeding it by putting it in. his pocket, not larger
t'hah a full grown chicken. I have carefully comparedthia with,
and found perfectly, similar to-it, a Mil and a (jtiill-feathiér brought
from the Columbia River by Lewis and Clark and preserved in
the Philadelphia Museum. These remains prove the existence of
the Jpfohdtor Within the Dnited States, and sufficiently authorize
its introduction into this work.
Length thrfee feet nirie inches. Breadth nine feet. Bill to the
corner of the mouth two inches six-eighths ; to the cere orie inch
and a half, to the down three and- a quarter inches. Bill curved
and hooked, with several flexures; upper mandible passing over
the lower, which is rounded and scalloped: nostrils perviolis,
rounded-elliptical, cut in the cére. Bill outside, cere, and all the
surrounding naked parts black; ears without any covering,‘«the
skin rugose : inside oft the bill yellowish white, margined with
black; I palate furnished: skin, having the appearaucW
of a^rqp © f t teeth in th& middl^rthentbf a hard ridge looking like
fee flil^Mnd t-ww^atog^riak. r o w t-ongue' broadly oOrifeave, and
serrated' onVthe'tuipfflM>5t®p{ edges with sharp pointed-' cutting serra-
1 ures : an elewtiohjof the- skh©> indicating the ffOhtal caruncle ;
the places, where the© bristled h b ^ n J e a p p e a r is also m-dieated' by
amclevation; E y e full andt&isrtrai'd'&dt^KsiiMaekfeh:-jjtfembfay# ©f
the throat- Vbryf dilatahih: -h8l#i;Sh6^^feh':WS^^#|y®F thSftk -silky
down of a. brownish black colour j on t h © ' d a r k and
hpiiWiky ; genenMSpiour dark hrowhj faith'lfeadTier facing a minded
appear anoe^ tipped - with and crilfffeathers
black, with a gloss of blue».- The number of tail-feathers
is:*twelve,. the- bMsed wingstnotf reaching.’beyond, th |* ^ l' vejty
tipii1 ■ black : aerotarsus11 heautifuliy-eolligate,
aerodactylus: soutellafed: thejfwhole leg fobi-'ih,
leriSgth,' of whiefo'the- tarsus ianve-ttfid a'quarter inches, and the
mi’ddte'toe and nail six, the nail beirigdriieand a half: lateral toCs
connoted with the middle as far as ^ a membrane;
the inner two and a half mebfes long without the nail; which is
one and a half; the outer wfj®| the. n a i l q u a r i e r Of .an inch
sihor|er; hind toe articulated- inside, bearing lit thC grotad only
with ‘the ■ point df the nail?,» ail inch and a half loBgj the nail one
inch more; and rriueh iweurved : fat
part of the heel Targe and nihgh. T h i fBdSWtav©^generally
described as white? or nyhitishj owing' to- their befog*’ Commonly
stained’ withtehe ’eicremCntsf which-the bird throws mueh forward,
but they are in affine blri» hotit Cofohr when washed elean,
arid these birds seeiried, tote© fond of Washing themselves;
The Condor is- diffius©<f»»ower the continent of South America
from the straits», ofaJSNftgeHafW extending its range also to Mexico
and’ California, and sthe western territory of the United States
BE von. rv.—E