The order of Waders, and that of Palmipeds, include, in the low marshy levels of this continent, some characteristic species: notably, the Jacanas and the Kamichis; the Agami or Trumpet-Bird, remarkable for its pastoral instinct, its domestic aptitudes, and the ringing sound of its voice; the Savacou, which, in the structure of its enormous beak and its general habits, is allied to the African Balæniceps. Here, as in Africa, a species of rapacious Grallator flourishes, the _Cariama_, delivering "a war to the knife" against the reptile legions. Raptores more accurately defined--such, for example, as the _Falco cachinnans_, or Laughing Vulture--share in the destructive campaign against frogs, toads, lizards, and small serpents. And in the New, as in the Old World, Nature does not neglect the work of purification, intrusting it in the savannahs and the pampas to various kinds of Vulturidæ, which devour the putrid carcasses that would otherwise pollute the atmosphere. The _Cathartes-Urubu_ and the _Aura_ are the most common species; the Mexicans call them _Zopilotes_. They are found in all Central and Southern America, and frequently range to very high latitudes. They are of small size, very social, easy familiarized with man, and may be seen in great numbers, not alone in the deserts and plains, but in the great towns, where they efficiently play the part of great sanitary reformers. They are gifted with extraordinary delicacy of scent; they detect the existence of carrion at great distances, and flock from the four quarters of heaven to banquet upon it. The _Sarcoramphus Papa_, or "King of the Vultures," a species closely allied to the great Condor of the Andes, is likewise encountered very frequently in the plains of Tropical America, but only where the herbage has been set on fire; which is a common enough occurrence, either through lightning, or by accident or design on the part of the Indians. Then he arrives on rapid pinion to prey upon the lizards, and frogs, and serpents which are destroyed by the scathing and consuming flames. His attire is more elegant than his mission in creation would seem to render necessary. The plumage on the upper part of the body is of a reddish hue, the neck and head of a delicate bluish-violet, the beak red, the crest orange, the eyebrows white, and the wings black. He is about the size of the domestic Turkey. The tawny _Caracara_, a bird of the genus _Polyborus_, as large as the common Kite, and with a tail nine inches long; and the _Harpy Eagle_ (Thrasaëtus), distinguished by its formidable beak and legs, its erect crest and flashing eyes--both widely distributed in all the hot regions of the New World--belong to the _Falconidæ_ family (in the latest classification), as well as the great white-headed Fishing Eagle, or Pygargue (_Haliaëtus Leucocephalus_), which inhabits the northern continent. The latter has been eloquently described by the Paisley