Identifier: birditsformfunct07beeb (find matches)
Title: The bird, its form and function
Year: 1906 (1900s)
Authors: Beebe, William, 1877-1962
Subjects: Birds Birds
Publisher: New York : Henry Holt
Contributing Library: Internet Archive
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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Nevertheless it loves soaring, and will rise in an immensespiral until it wholly disappears from sight in the zenith,even in the brightest weather; and considering its greatbulk and dark colour, the height it ultimately attainsmust be very great. On sunny windless days, especiallyin winter and spring, they often spend hours at a timein these sublime aerial exercises, slowly floating roundand round in vast circles, and singing at intervals. Howso heavy and comparatively short-winged a bird can sus-tain itself for such long periods in the thin upper air towhich it rises has not yet been explained. I find in my journal the following account of a flightof vultures which we saw in a desolate alkali desert in 33c The Bird western Mexico: One of the most wonderful exhibitionsof bird-flight came to us to-day as we left the alkali plainand rode among the mesquite scrub. A confused massof black appeared in the air which, as we advanced, re-solved itself into hundreds of individual black specks.
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Fig. 264.—Crested Screamers. The atmosphere was so deceptive that what at first seemedto be a vast cloud of gnats close at hand, was soon seento be a multitude of birds, and when a quarter of a mileaway we knew them to be vultures. Three burros laydead upon the plain. This we knew yesterday, and herewere the scavengers. Never had we seen Vultures more Win gs 331 numerous or in more orderly array. A careful scrutinythrough our glasses showed many scores of Black andTurkey Vultures walking about and feeding upon thecarcasses of the animals, and from this point there ex-tended upward into the air a vast inverted cone of birds,all circling in the same direction. From where we satupon our horses there seemed not one out of place, the Fig. 265.—Turkey Vulture soaring. outline of the cone was as smooth and distinct as thoughthe birds were limited in their flight to that particulararea. It was a rare sight, the sun lighting up every birdon the farther side and shadowing black as night tho

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