f imaginary wonders. The
most extravagant accounts of the condor were written and read, and
general credence was granted to every story which travellers brought
from the fairy land of gold and silver. It was only at the
commencement of the present century that Humboldt overthrew the
extravagant notions that previously prevailed respecting the size,
strength, and habits of that extraordinary bird.

The full-grown condor measures, from the point of the beak to the end
of the tail, from four feet ten inches to five feet; and from the tip
of one wing to the other, from twelve to thirteen feet. This bird feeds
chiefly on carrion: it is only when impelled by hunger that he seizes
living animals, and even then only the small and defenceless, such as
the young of sheep, vicunas, and llamas. He cannot raise great weights
with his feet, which, however, he uses to aid the power of his beak.
The principal strength of the condor lies in his neck and in his feet;
yet he cannot, when flying, carry a weight exceeding eight or ten
pounds. All accounts of sheep and calves being carried off by condors
are mere exaggerations. This bird passes a great part of the day in
sleep, and hovers in quest of prey chiefly in the morning and evening.
Whilst soaring at a height beyond the reach of human eyes, the
sharp-sighted condor discerns his prey on the level heights beneath
him, and darts down upon it with the swiftness of lightning. When a
bait is laid, it is curious to observe the numbers of condors which
assemble in a quarter of an hour, in a spot near which not one had been
previously visible. These birds possess the senses of sight and smell
in a singularly powerful degree.

Some old travellers, Ulloa among others, have affirmed that the plumage
of the condor is invulnerable to a musket-ball. This absurdity is
scarcely worthy of contradiction; but it is nevertheless true that the
bird has a singular tenacity of life, and that it is seldom killed by
fire-arms, unless when shot in some vital part. Its plumage,
particularly on the wings, is very strong and thick. The natives,
therefore, seldom attempt to shoot the condor: they usually catch him by
traps or by the laso, or kill him by stones flung from slings, or by the
_Bolas_. A curious method of capturing the condor alive is practised in
the province of Abancay. A fresh cow-hide, with some fragments of flesh
adhering to it, is spread out on one of the level heights, and an Indian
provided w