Evening star., 1949-12-17
This and That
By Charles E. TraceweH
DECATUR STREET.

"One morning recently I looked up at the
sky and saw an unusual sight. It seemed
somewhat like an artists portrayal of
flight OF angels. However, one difference
was apparent. These angels were dark,
somber In the groups Of two or three they
came into view poised on almost motionless
wings.
"On and up they came until could count
ABOUT 80 of them. They made a very i'm
pressive sight as they rose in the air and
wheeled and sailed on together.
II soon saw they were turkey vultures,
so graceful and majestic in flight am
glad I saw them. Thanking you for your
column. am
VERY sincerely yours, E. D. B."
+
When he flies. and especially when he
glides, the buzzard as he is commonly called.
is a wonder to watch
At this time he becomes beautiful in all
the majesty Of fight.
Condors of South America can do the
same thing, in the same wonderful way.
Hiram Bingham, in his book published last
year. gives an account of a condor coming
down into a deep mountain pass. dropping
slowly without apparent wing motion, look
ing the party over calmly. then rising slowly
out of the pass-still without visible wing
motion!
Few birds can equal the condors and tur-
key vultures in this sort of thing. It makes
them special birds to all persons interested
in flight. While mans airplanes are built
on principles learned more from flying fishes
than birds, still the latter employ natural
aerodynamics copied by man.
AS yet, however, we have not learned how
to do what the ugly old buzzard can do so
effortlessly.
There is another thing the buzzard excels
in, and that is sight. He is said to be able
to see a mouse at miles distance. And
that, dear reader, is seeing! A mouse is
pretty small, and at such distance would
not be visible to man, or most other animals.
All bird eyes are good, but few as keen as
the buzZard's.
Turkey vultures, or buzzards belong to
the carrion feeders. which render a real
service to mankind by cleaning up all de-
caying meat. Nature has not equipped their
feet for the Staying of live prey They must
feed upon dead or dying animals, not
pretty thought. but one which nature evi-
IDENTIFY thought well enough Of to incorporate
into her eternal scheme Of things.
The buzzards have featherless heads and
necks, and this makes them very ugly to
human sight, since we are so used to seeing
feathers there on all our other birds.
Hence it is not physical beauty or "looks"
we prize in our buzzards. We must look
elsewhere for things to like about them
Their habits. in some respects, are not NICE
They are not pretty, in our ordinary sense
Of the word. They are looked down upon
by most bird lovers. Yet properly seen
"in the dark with light behind them," they
have their aspects of beauty, as our corre-
spondent so we'll says.
Unlike the eagles, hawks and owls the
buzzards cannot seize and hold prey. They
must find it. and this they do not only by
smell but especially by sight. If any one
asks you whether buzzards smell or see their
prey, answer at once. "See 1t, Of course"
and you will be right.
Even uglier than q mature buzzard are
the young buzzards. They are entirely naked
when Matched but soon get q covering of
white or bun down. Two or three eggs are
laid in hollow stumps, caves, cavities In
rocks, or even on the ground, since they
build no nests. The eggs vary, some Of
them being greenish others white, and some
buh, with or without brown markings
Young buzzards are fed at times by re-
gurgitation as pigeons are. The older ones.
when alarmed, manage to vomit up very
nasty smelling matter, 50 don't alarm one
when it 10 above you. Since their food is
rotten, to begin with, this Is no wonder.
Their inner workings are really marvellous,
to keep them well with such food. It all
bears out the modern finding. that food
poisoning" is really not that, but something
else.
Buzzards are most remarkable for their
powers of flight. and mankind will never
cease wondering exactly how they do it, and
at tho same time remain so remarkably ugly.
We seem to want to believe that perfect
powers Of fight demand q perfect exterior,
and inner sentiments Of perfection. tod. but
II we recall what We have done with the
|. plane. We will FAY nothing more. The buz-
zard has mastered the use Of air currents.
something man has yet to do. When we
have mastered them, what will we do with
them2 Use them for war purposes, or wing
our way to heaven?