Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1898-10-28
VULFURES OFsIt6E
GIANT BIRDS WHICH ARE snQ(l6ecUl6
AND. usEFuL

e. 4tEi- HEAFSrLzE ~ sG@tAe .5asI @f5SsGErNS@s
When the fSiag veltars sNNge1see
Carcass. the OtAer .yerissisSsigavs
to stand OF U.taI NJ NayssHnas
Gorgcd Himse.f.
Il tho city Of Bombsy
bird, there is no manner 81 do1h8Nlet
bird that should be. Z do .nok, uoW.
says q writer in The Times q -
why the ancient Egyptian lds6ed Ishe
ibis, but II Bombay bore the nos6sna.
ure of q vulture rampant on hee. istds
everybody would know why. Oh al he
%unsalaried public servants Who, have
identified themselves with this city and
devoted their energies to ito wslfasS 10
other can take . place beside thSltul-
ture. Unfortunately! the .vulturs has
never lent itself to the spirit ~ hsr-
aldry. The eagle has, strangely epnngh,
though the difference between. fhos 'two.
has never been very we'll marked lathe
popular mind. The trnnslator1 81 or
Bible had no notion OF il.
Modern natural history has disan-
tangled the two names and ,a1signed
them to two very different families Of:
birds. tho distinction between which IN
its essence is just this-that whila ahe
eagle kills its prey tho less tmpatieus
vulturc waits deccntly till ies time
comes todic. Popular sentiment petSists
in regarding the former a. Che more
noble. but there can be no question
which Is the more useful.
1t is not easy indeed to realize to.qps-
self tho extent and beneAcence. Of the
work carried Oh throughout the length
aud breadth Of India from years end 20
years end by tho mighty race of yul-
lures. Tho writer continues: Tho vul.
lures that n sees In such numbers On.
Malabar hill belong to two species,
which arc easy enough to distinguish
when once ones attention has been
turned to the difference. between them.
Tho commoner Of the two, the white.
backed or Bengal ~vulturo (Gyps benea-
~lensis) is n smoky black bird, VIII .
band Of white extending the whole
length OF tho wings ON the undertake..
This band is broken by the dark body.
and that serves to distinguish ths, bird
ut q glance.
Tho other species il tho long billed
vulture (Gyps pallescens) Of Barnes.
Jerdon COMPOUNDED It with another spe.
oies. Its general color is brown, darker
or lighter according to age. sometimes
almost Witty brown; but, however
white tho underparts may be, body and
wings arc alike. Tho two species are
about tho same sizo and larger than one
would suspect who has only seen, them
at a distance. A good specimen viii
measure owe seven feet from tip Is tin
Of tho wings. Ef
There is ono curious difference in
their habits. The long billed yulturs
breeds always on high cliffs. while il
Bengal brother is content TO build IT.
nest on any tree big enough TO bear tho
weight Of such q ponderous edi6ce. i
have seen q single mango tree groaning
under the weight Of two OF three nests
on the other side of the harbor. Each
nest contains ono egg, generally white,
but sometimes blotched with brown.
Once fairly in tho mir. no bird. surpasses
tho majesty Of its flight. The question
has often been holly discussed whether
birds a sail without Tapping their
wings. -
Tho difficulty originated, Of course, |
with somebody Of that unfortunate olaaDi
who must reason about q question o.
fact instead Of looking. He damoustrat.
ed that such q feat was impossible. Tho
vultures kept IN doing it all the sams,
and any one may watch them. For
hours together they will sail in circles,
or rather in spirals, without the sli9ht-
est motion Of their wings beyond trim
ming them to tho wind like the sails Of
q boat. OF course there muet be q wind
There arc two other kinds Of vultures
which may occasionally be seen in Bonn
bay. Ono Is the king vulture (Otogyps
calvush a royal bird, not indeed larger
than the others, but Of nobler aspect and
prouder character. 1t appears singly or
with its mate and will not consort with
tho herd. When 1t comes to a CARCASS,
the others have to stand by until It has
dined. There is no difficulty In recog-
niz;ng this species by its deep black COL
or. relieved only by two pure white
patches on its thighs and BY the blood
red tint Of Its bore head and neck. OUR
fourth vulture Is the foul bird known 81
Pharaoh's chicken, as we'll ia by other,
less reputable names. Its title in soence
Is Neophron ginginianua
It is m Of the commonest birds
about Poonah and everywhere on the
plains Of tho Deccan. but seldom visits
tho coast. have, however, seen q pair
on more than M occasion about the
fats. It Is O white bird, not much big
ger than q kite, with only the quill
feathers Of the wing black. Its bill 10
long and thin, its naked face yellow and
Its tail wedge shaped. Its neck is not
bare, but clothed with long, rusty white
feathers, pointing backward. Il does
not stand upright, like the true vulturea
but carries its body like q duck and
walks like . recruit. BY these; signs
you may know Pharaoh's chicken. Il
makes its shabby nest Of sticks, rags and
rubbish on trees, lodges Of public build
ings OF anywhere about March and lays
two white eggs, moro OF less blotched
with brown.
Head Wheels and TailFaee.
An answer recently filed By uthG
learned Council" for the defendant IN
o New York court contains the follow.
ing: 1.-THE defendant denyes that III
description Of a contemplated taflraoe
Of about n rod and four inches acroa
defendants land 10 contained in apey
Srn$ov vsykk - -r- - ~