. Birds in their relations to man; a manual of economic ornithology for the United States and Canada . eyare known sometimes to capture live snakes and to attackhelpless animals of many kinds. Along the sea-shore theyfeed upon dead fish cast up by the waves, and Audubon re-ports having observed them in the Florida Keys sucking theeggs and devouring the young of herons and cormorants. Asanother offset to the good these birds do, mention should bemade of the fact that Mr. E. B. Williamson has suggestedthat they are doubtless an important factor in the spread ofsome diseases,—hog cholera, for exa
. Birds in their relations to man; a manual of economic ornithology for the United States and Canada . eyare known sometimes to capture live snakes and to attackhelpless animals of many kinds. Along the sea-shore theyfeed upon dead fish cast up by the waves, and Audubon re-ports having observed them in the Florida Keys sucking theeggs and devouring the young of herons and cormorants. Asanother offset to the good these birds do, mention should bemade of the fact that Mr. E. B. Williamson has suggestedthat they are doubtless an important factor in the spread ofsome diseases,—hog cholera, for example. 216 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN. It was formerly supposed that these birds discovered theirfood through the sense of smell, but a number of experimentsby Audubon seem to prove conclusively that they dependupon sight rather than smell. In one of these experimentsa dead hare, a pheasant, and a kestrel, together with awheelbarrow full of offal from the slaughter-pens, were de-posited on the ground at the foot of my garden. A framewas raised above it at a distance of twelve inches from the. TlRKEY-BrZZARDS.{After Urchin.) earth ; this was covered with brushwood, allowing the air topass freely beneath it so as to convey the effluvium far Although left for nearly a month, with hundreds ofvultures passing over it daily, none of them discovered itspresence. Another time a perfectly dry stuffed deerskin wasplaced in a field, and immediately attracted the vultures,which were of course unable to get any food. To test stillfurther whether the birds were attracted by sight alone, ua THE HAWKS, EAGLES, KITES, AND VULTURES. 217 coarse painting on canvas was made, representing a sheepskinned and cut open. This proved very amusing. Nosooner was the picture placed on the ground than the vul-tures observed it, alighted near, walked over it, and some ofthem commenced tugging at the painting. They seemedmuch disappointed and surprised, and after having satisfiedtheir curiosity
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