It may at once be recognised from a long
distance, by its lofty, soaring, and most elegant flight. It is
well known to be a true carrion-feeder. On the west coast of
Patagonia, among the thickly-wooded islets and broken land, it
lives exclusively on what the sea throws up, and on the carcasses
of dead seals. Wherever these animals are congregated on the rocks,
there the vultures may be seen. The Gallinazo (Cathartes atratus)
has a different range from the last species, as it never occurs
southward of latitude 41 degrees. Azara states that there exists a
tradition that these birds, at the time of the conquest, were not
found near Monte Video, but that they subsequently followed the
inhabitants from more northern districts. At the present day they
are numerous in the valley of the Colorado, which is three hundred
miles due south of Monte Video. It seems probable that this
additional migration has happened since the time of Azara. The
Gallinazo generally prefers a humid climate, or rather the
neighbourhood of fresh water; hence it is extremely abundant in
Brazil and La Plata, while it is never found on the desert and arid
plains of Northern Patagonia, excepting near some stream.
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