167

Crass AV ES.
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Ogper ACCIPITRES.

Vuurvr.—The Vulture. (Plate X. Vultur fulous, the
Griffon Vulture.)

This family of birds is characterized by an elongated
beak, curved at the tip, and by having a portion of the
head bare of feathers; sometimes the neck is also denuded.
In general, vultures live on dead carcases and offal of va-
rious kinds: they are, as Mr. Swainson observes, the great
scavengers of nature in hot latitudes, where putrefaction is
most rapid and most injurious to health, and the disposi-
tion of their numbers is regulated by an all-wise Creator
according to their usefulness. They are sparingly scattered
over the south of Europe; in Egypt they are much more
numerous; but in tropical America, although the species
are fewer, the individuals exist in far greater numbers.